Mike Levin: “I urged my colleagues to debate and pass sensible gun safety legislation. Since that statement, we have seen three…”

“I urged my colleagues to debate and pass sensible gun safety legislation. Since that statement, we have seen three separate incidences of gun violence in our Nation's schools. In New York City, a teenager walked into a high school and seriously wounded two other students. In Grundy, VA, a man walked into a law school and shot and killed three people. In Raymond, MS, a 17-year-old student who had just been suspended, returned to school and held the principal and assistant principal hostage at gunpoint for nearly three hours. According to the Children's Defense Fund Study of 2001 gun violence data, 3,365 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States last year, which is one child every 2 rac{1}{2} ext{ hours}. And, every year, four to five times as many children and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. The safety of our children and communities are at stake and access to guns is a major reason why. I once again urge the Senate to close the gun show loophole, prevent children from gaining access to guns and provide law enforcement the tools they need to investigate gun-related crimes.”