Angie Craig: “let's talk about that tragic situation in Jonesboro, AR. What the Senator from Illinois is proposing would not have…”

“let's talk about that tragic situation in Jonesboro, AR. What the Senator from Illinois is proposing would not have solved the problem in Jonesboro, AR, even though that young child obtained his gun from a grandfather who had locked his house and the child entered the home without permission and the gun was locked in a case. I don't know how we legislate against that. My guess is, we do not, not very successfully. All of a sudden grandpa becomes the criminal, and you are going to go after grandpa at a time when his grandchild has done that onerous act? Now, the Senator mentioned 15 States that have similar laws and yet the courts very seldom use them and juries very seldom give decisions because we know the parent is in a horrible situation at the time that kind of accident occurs. They are the victim, and they become the criminal. We all know that underage children in our care who act as those children do, we are every bit as much the victim. Why don't we pass the legislation that I have proposed that incorporates the forces of the Federal Government, the State government, and local government, and goes after criminals who use guns and criminal acts and bring down our crime rates and work to take the guns out of the hands of the juveniles where the killings are really going on in this country? No, it isn't as dramatic; it doesn't make for the political speech in the Chamber, but it sure makes the streets a lot safer.”