Juvenile Crime legislation

[Steve Cooke <scooke@uidaho.edu>]

Dear Visionaries, 

Pls contact your Congressional representative re. S. 254 Juvenile Crime Bill if you support it or have questions and concerns

The Speaker of the House, Representative Hastert (R-IL) has
said that he expects the legislation to be voted on by the
House Judiciary Committee during the week of June 8th and
considered by the full House the following week (as early as
June 15th). (Children's Defense Fund) 


Steve Cooke

Idaho's Congressional Delegation is:

ID   R   Craig, Larry         larry_craig@craig.senate.gov  
ID   R   Crapo, Mike          http://crapo.senate.gov/webform.html
ID   1   R  Chenoweth, Helen      ask.helen@mail.house.gov  
ID   2   R  Simpson, Mike         mike.simpson@mail.house.gov
source:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/congress/conemail.txt

Washington delegation
Senate
WA   D   Murray, Patty        senator_murray@murray.senate.gov  
*WA   R   Gorton, Slade        http://gorton.senate.gov/webform.htm  
Congress
  WA   1   D  Inslee, Jay
                   http://www.house.gov/inslee/  
    WA   2   R  Metcalf, Jack
                   http://www.house.gov/metcalf/
    WA   3   D  Baird, Brian
                   http://www.brianbaird.com/
    WA   4   R  Hastings, Doc
                   http://www.house.gov/hastings/
    WA   5   R  Nethercutt, George  
                   http://www.house.gov/nethercutt/  
    WA   6   D  Dicks, Norman
                   http://www.house.gov/dicks
    WA   7   D  McDermott, Jim
                   http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/
    WA   8   R  Dunn, Jennifer  
                   http://www.house.gov/dunn/  
    WA   9   D  Smith, Adam
                   http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/


ACT NOW TO IMPACT JUVENILE CRIME LEGISLATION UNDER CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE

On May 20, by a vote of 73-25, the United States Senate
approved juvenile crime legislation, which included a number
of gun safety amendments.  The House of Representatives is
expected to consider similar legislation.  At this time, it is
unclear what type of gun provisions will be included in the
measure.

The Speaker of the House, Representative Hastert (R-IL) has
said that he expects the legislation to be voted on by the
House Judiciary Committee during the week of June 8th and
considered by the full House the following week (as early as
June 15th).

It is imperative that you express your concerns to Congress
about the importance of gun safety provisions to protect
children.  Nearly 13 children die from gun violence every day;
a classroom full of children every two days.  You can make a
difference by contacting your Representative today as the gun
package is being drafted by the House leadership.

Please contact the House leadership and your own
Representative to urge them to retain the Senate-passed gun
safety provisions at a minimum and to take several critical
additional steps to make our homes and communities safer.  In
particular, please ask them to:

---Close the gun show loophole so that individuals buying any
gun sold at a gun show are subject to background checks under
the Brady law;

---Raise the age for legally buying from any source or
possessing a handgun from 18 to 21;

---Require guns in the home to be stored safely and out of
reach of children - this means strengthening the Senate passed
safety device provision, which is a good first step, but
should be tightened to ensure that it won't be interpreted too
broadly; and

---Impose a one-gun a month purchase restriction so that
individuals can't intentionally purchase dozens of guns for
the purpose of reselling them to teenagers or convicted
felons.

This debate is not about the 2nd Amendment; it's about adult
responsibility and keeping our children safe.  More children
have died as a result of gun violence since 1979 than the
number of soldiers killed in combat in Vietnam.

ACTION NEEDED:  Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121
and ask to be connected to your Representative in the House.
Once the connection has been made, ask to speak to the staff
responsible for working on gun legislation.  If that person is
not there, leave a detailed voice mail message.  Leave your
name, address and phone number to reinforce the fact that the
Member is receiving a call from his/her district.  If you wish
to send an e-mail letter to your Representative, check out the
Children's Defense Fund Web site,
http://www.childrensdefense.org/takeaction, which has a draft
letter that you may address and send.

Target Members:  All Members will be voting on the gun
package, so it is important that all Members of the House hear
from their constituents.  A small group of Members will
actually be writing the gun provisions.  Hence, in addition,
CDF urges you to contact the House leadership, particularly if
you are from their districts.

House leadership on guns:
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL); Majority Leader Richard
Armey (R-TX); Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX); Republican
Conference Chair J.C. Watts (R-OK); Minority Leader Dick
Gephardt (D-MO); Minority Whip David Bonior (D-MI); Democratic
Caucus Chair Martin Frost (D-TX); Judiciary Committee Chairman
Henry Hyde (R-IL); Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John
Conyers (D-MI); Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Chairman Bill
McCollum (R-FL); Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Ranking
Member Bobby Scott (D-VA); Rules Committee Chairman David
Dreier (D-CA); Rules Committee Member Deborah Pryce (R-OH);
and Rules Committee Member Sue Myrick (R-NC).

The list of Members is long, but the House leadership together
with the top members of the House Judiciary Committee, House
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, and Rules Committee will be
putting together the gun package.  They all need to hear from
their constituents that it is time to protect children, not
guns.

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-----------------------------------
Devanie Candelaria
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202/662-3540 (fax)