Cord Byrd: “is it any wonder why the approval ratings of the Congress go up every time we go into recess? The American people are…”

“is it any wonder why the approval ratings of the Congress go up every time we go into recess? The American people are watching us, and they are wondering if we are really paying attention to the issues important to them. I fear that we are not paying enough attention, certainly. Next month, the nation will observe the 1-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, in which fifteen people, including the two student gunmen, were killed. But this tragedy is not unique. In May 1992, a 20-year-old killed four people and wounded ten others in an armed siege at his former high school in California. In January 1993, a 17-year-old walked into his teacher's seventh-period English class in Kentucky, and shot her in the head. He then shot the janitor in the abdomen. In February 1996, a 14-year-old student took an assault rifle to his school in Washington state and opened fire on his algebra class, killing two classmates and a teacher. One year later, in February 1997, a 16-year-old student opened fire with a shotgun at a school in Alaska, killing a classmate and the school principal and wounding two other students. In October 1997, a 16-year-old student, after shooting his mother, went to school with a gun and shot nine students, killing two of them. In December 1997, a student opened fire on a student prayer circle at a Kentucky school, killing three students and wounding five others.”