It still hurts. The shootings one year ago at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, have left a painful dark mark on the nation, like a bad bruise that is slow to fade. It hurts to think of the two teenage gunmen and the 15 lives they took. It hurts to think that anything like it could ever happen again.
To make sure that it doesn't happen again, the nation is pausing on the first anniversary of the Columbine shootings to reflect on how to prevent such tragedies in the future. The anniversary has sparked a national debate about how to reduce all types of gun violence.
The President, Congress, private groups and ordinary citizens have all entered the debate (for two opposing viewpoints, see below). Do we need more gun laws, or do we need better enforcement of the laws we already have? There is great disagreement on that question. But there is no disputing this fact: 4,223 Americans ages 19 and younger were killed or killed themselves with a gun in 1997, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's nearly a dozen kids a day. An additional 28,186 adults were killed. What can be done to avoid more such deaths?
Donna Dees-Thomases has some ideas. She is the mother of two and the leader of the Million-Mom March, to be held in Washington, D.C., on May 14.
The Mother's Day marchers hope to encourage Congress to pass new gun laws. Dees-Thomases wants to see licenses required for all gun owners, a national registry of handguns and gun safety locks. "We will not rest until sensible gun laws are enacted that protect our children," she says.
Changing the rules
Congress has been working on new gun-control laws, but there are many disagreements. Last week the House of Representatives passed a bill that will pay states to give a five-year prison sentence to anyone who uses a gun to commit a violent crime. Republicans, who sponsored the bill, believe it will reduce gun violence. Democrats believe it will have little effect. Another disagreement: how to regulate gun shows, big public events where it is often easy to buy a gun. About 10% of guns used in crimes by kids, including three used at Columbine High School, were bought at gun shows.
While Congress argues, many states are going ahead with their own gun rules. Last Tuesday the Governor of Maryland signed a bill requiring outside trigger locks on guns sold in the state and built-in handgun locks by 2003. Supporters believe these locks will reduce the chance that kids will fire guns. Similar safety-lock requirements have been enacted in Massachusetts. And last month gunmaker Smith & Wesson agreed to provide outside safety locks on all its handguns within 60 days and built-in locks within two years.
A nation of gun owners
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which includes the words "the right to ... bear arms," is viewed as the foundation for the right of Americans to own guns. Today the meaning of those words is widely debated. Some believe they were written to make sure that the young U.S. could defend itself from outside threats to its independence. Others feel that it was meant to apply to individual Americans so that they could protect themselves and their property.
The Second Amendment has helped make the U.S. one of the most heavily armed countries in the world. Many nations strictly limit gun ownership, but in the U.S., 4 out of 10 households contain a gun. As a result, and because of its large population, the U.S. has a high number of shooting deaths. In 1996, for example, handguns were used to murder 15 people in Japan, 30 in Britain, 106 in Canada--and 9,390 in the U.S.
People on both sides of the gun debate are troubled by these numbers. "Everyone wants to see an end to gun violence," says Republican Congressman Bill McCollum. Says Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy: "The fact that we can't work together is not setting a good example for our children." The sooner both sides are able to reach an agreement, the safer all our nation' children will be.
VIEWPOINT
One of my most important goals as President has been to make America's families safer.
Through stronger gun laws and tough enforcement, we've helped bring crime rates to their lowest in a generation. But no one thinks they're low enough. And recent incidents remind us of the tragic consequences when young people get their hands on guns.
April 20 will mark the anniversary of the terrible killings at Columbine High School. We've got to do all we can to prevent such incidents, and all of us have a role to play.
I have met many young people who are making a difference in their own communities. But Congress should do its part too, by passing my proposal to fund the largest ever gun-enforcement initiative. And to prevent criminals from getting guns in the first place, Congress should pass commonsense legislation to require background checks at gun shows, require child-safety locks for handguns, and ban large-capacity ammunition clips.
The gun industry can also do its part by changing the way it designs and distributes guns. A gun-safety agreement my Administration reached with Smith & Wesson shows what's possible when reasonable people sit down to work out their differences. Among other reforms, Smith & Wesson agreed to adopt "smart gun" technology; to sell only to people who have been trained in the proper handling of firearms; and to ensure their products are not marketed to criminals.
The debate about reducing gun violence isn't about politics. It's about saving lives. By working together, I believe we can make America the safest big country in the world.
--By President Bill Clinton, who has called on Congress to pass tougher gun-control laws by the Columbine anniversary, April 20.
VIEWPOINT
Do you think your whole class
should be punished if one person breaks the rules?
That wouldn't be fair, would it? Yet that's gun control. We have more than 20,000 firearm laws, but when gun crimes hit the news, some politicians demand more laws.
I disagree. The criminal who wasn't stopped by 20,000 laws won't stop for 20,001. Those laws, however, do burden good citizens--those who own the 99.8% of firearms never used in crimes.
Instead of blaming guns and punishing responsible gun owners, we should focus on criminals and those who misuse guns and cause harm. Our government has done a poor job of going after the bad guys. That must change; lawbreakers should be punished, including kids who break the law by bringing guns to school.
Meanwhile, citizens who use guns safely and legally deserve respect. Our nation's founders thought firearm ownership was so important that they protected it in the Constitution's Bill of Rights, with our other civil rights. Today 65 million Americans own guns for lawful hunting, target shooting, collecting or, most important, protecting themselves and their families.
Responsible gun owners know guns are not toys and must be handled safely. Again, the key isn't more laws--it's education. We teach children "Stop, look and listen," "Stop, drop and roll"; they should also learn "Stop, don't touch, leave the area and tell an adult" when they see a gun.
Gun control punishes the wrong people and won't stop gun violence. As U.S. policy, it earns a failing grade.
--By U.S. Senator Larry E. Craig (Republican, Idaho), who is a board member of the National Rifle Association and co-author of the Youth Handgun Safety Act