Dick Durbin: “when I was young and going to grade school, we feared the bomb. We were in a cold war. We were given duck- and-cover…”

“when I was young and going to grade school, we feared the bomb. We were in a cold war. We were given duck- and-cover drills to get under our desk just in case there might be a nuclear attack on the United States of America. That is imprinted in my mind to this day--the fear which we had about this threat to our safety. I wish to read a commentary that is making the rounds with wide circulation by a mother who talks about a similar concern for her children. She writes: Two weeks ago, my second and fourth grade daughters came home from school and told me they'd a ``code red drill in case someone tries to kill us. We had to all hide in the bathroom together and be really quiet. It was really scary but the teacher said if there was a real man with a gun trying to find us, she'd cover us up and protect us from him. [Her little boy] started crying. I tried to be brave.'' This mother goes on to write: My 3-year-old nephew had the same drill at his preschool in Virginia. Three-year-old American babies and teachers--hiding in bathrooms, holding hands, preparing for death. We are saying to teachers: Arm yourselves and fight men with assault weapons because we are too cowardly to fight the gun lobby. We are saying to a terrified generation of American children--WE WILL NOT DO WHAT IT TAKES TO PROTECT YOU. WE WILL NOT EVEN TRY. So just be very quiet, hide and wait. Hold your breath. Shhh.…”