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McCain Offers Measure to Limit Youth Access to Guns
May 12, 1999
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today offered an amendment tothe Juvenile Justice Act that would prevent juveniles from illegally accessing weapons, and punish those who would assist them in doing so. Specifically, the amendment sentences juveniles
convicted of violent crimes under adult guidelines and punishes juveniles who illegally carry or use handguns in schools. The Senator's floor statement follows:
"Mr., President, I have an amendment at the desk and ask for its immediate consideration. This amendment is designed to prevent juveniles from illegally accessing weapons and to punish those who would assist them in doing so.
"This amendment provides that whoever illegally purchases a weapon for another individual, knowing that the recipient intends to use the weapon to commit a violent crime, may be imprisoned for up to 15 years. Further, the amendment mandates that whoever illegally purchases a weapon for a iuvenile, knowing that the juvenile intends to commit a violent felony with the weapon, will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and may be imprisoned for up to 20 years. Current law provides a maximum prison term of 10 years, regardless of the age of the shooter. Additionally, if a person transfers a handgun or ammunition to a juvenile knowing that the juvenile intends to commit a violent felony, that individual will receive a minimum 10-year sentence and may be imprisoned up to 20 years.
"Mr. President, as I just outlined, this amendment is very simple. The amendment targets the nexus of the youth gun violence issue. Despite the arguments of those who are pushing for more restrictive guns ownership laws, the fact is that the overwhelming majority of kids who are committing these violent acts are getting guns illegally. It is ludicrous to argue that gang members are going to gun shows or to Walmart to buy their weapons. For the most part, they are obtaining them illegally.
"Recent events have shaken the collective conscience of this nation. The murders at Columbine High School in Colorado have again brought home to every American the degree to which we are failing our children.
"The most basic and profound responsibility that our culture - any culture - has is raising its children. We are failing in that responsibility, and the extent of our failure is being measured in the deaths and injuries of kids in schoolyards and on neighborhood streets. Over the past two years, we have been jolted time and again with the horrifying news and images of school shootings. Every day, in towns and cities across this country, kids are killing kids, and kids are killing adults in a spiraling pattern of youth violence driven by the drug trade, gang activity, and other factors.
"Our children are killing each other, and they are killing themselves. We must act to change this.
"Primary responsibility lies with families. As a country, we are not parenting our children. We are not adequately involving ourselves in our children's lives, the friends they hang out with, what they do with their time, and the problems they are struggling with. This is our job, our paramount responsibility, and we are failing. We must get our priorities straight, and that means putting our kids first.
"However, parents need help. They need help because our homes, our families, and our children's minds are being flooded by a tide of violence. This dehumanizing violence pervades our society. Movies depict graphic violence, and children are taught to kill and maim by interactive video games. The Internet, which holds such tremendous potential, is used by some to communicate unimaginable hatred, images and descriptions of violence, and "how-to" manuals on everything from bomb construction to drugs. Our culture is dominated by media, and our children, more so than any other generation, are vulnerable to the images of violence and hate that are, sadly, the dominant themes in so much of what they see and hear.
"I recently joined with some of my colleagues to call upon the President to convene an emergency summit ofthe leaders of the entertainment and interactive media industry to develop an action plan for controlling children's access to media violence. I am pleased that the President heeded this call. However, I am very disappointed that the President's summit proved to be heavy on symbolism and light on substance. We can do more.
"I have also joined others to introduce legislation calling upon the Surgeon General to conduct a comprehensive study of media violence in all its forms, and to issue a report on its effects together with recommendations on how we can turn around the tragic tide of youth violence.
"Further, yesterday, 1, along with Senator Lieberman and others, announced legislation that would establish a National Youth Violence Commission, consisting of religious leaders and experts in education, family psychology, law enforcement, and parenting, to produce a comprehensive study of the forces that are conspiring to turn our children into killers. "Combined, these measures -- along with this legislation -- are important steps targeting various aspects of the complex problem of youth violence. However, if we are to turn this tide, we must press the fight on every front.
"One reality of the horrific schoolyard shootings, and the criminal gun violence that is so prevalent among our youth, is the illegal use of guns. The amendment I have offered is specifically targeted at the illegal means by which kids are acquiring guns. The extent of this problem is made acutely apparent by the events that unfolded in Littleton. From what we are told, eighteen different gun laws were violated, including illegal straw purchases and transfers.
"This amendment states simply that, if you know a kid is going to commit a violent felony, and you give him or her the gun to commit that crime, you are going to go to jail for a long time.
"Mr. President, this amendment is not a panacea. As I have stated, the malady of youth violence that is eating at the soul of this nation is a complex disease. It will require a multi-faceted cure. I believe we must push for a comprehensive approach. What we must have is the unqualified commitment of all Americans to raise our children, to put them first.
"This amendment is one step -- one necessary step that will help us deal with the problem of kids killing kids. I hope the Senate will adopt this amendment."
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