Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - On the fifth anniversary of the Columbine shootings, the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) today laments that America still lacks a comprehensive and common sense gun safety policy to keep children safe. The Columbine tragedy resulted in the deaths of 12 students and a teacher, and the wounding of 23 others. On this anniversary, CDF reminds Americans that our country has failed children in three significant ways: Congress has not yet renewed the ten-year-old Assault Weapons Ban, set to expire on September 13, 2004.

Efforts to close a major loophole in the federal law requiring background checks of gun purchasers at gun shows remain stalled in Congress. And the Bush Administration has submitted a budget that cuts vital juvenile justice programs for at-risk youth at a time when children have access to assault weapons and other firearms.

"Military style, semi-automatic assault weapons have no place on the streets of America, let alone in our schools, regardless of anyone's interpretation of the Second Amendment," said Marian Wright Edelman, President of CDF. "Our gun policies make it possible for our children to have ready access to an arsenal of weapons. This is exacerbated by the Bush Administration's record budget cuts to juvenile justice prevention and intervention programs. The most recent statistics show that nearly 93,000 children and teens have died from gun violence since 1979. Our children are paying a deadly price for our tragically misguided priorities."

Special interest groups like the National Rifle Association continue to block the renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban, despite the fact that a majority of the U.S. Senate and the Bush Administration support it. One of the guns used in the Columbine shootings was a military-style TEC-9, an assault weapon outlawed by the current ban. Another gun used by the teens was a Hi-Point Carbine, an assault weapon manufactured after the 1994 ban, but due to minor cosmetic changes designed to technically comply with the 1994 law, is virtually identical to banned guns. This dramatically highlights the need to renew and strengthen the Assault Weapons Ban.

The Hi-Point Carbine used at Columbine was purchased at a gun show from an unlicensed dealer—currently exempt from the federal law that requires background checks on gun purchasers. The U.S. Senate passed an amendment closing the gun show loophole, but it also was derailed by NRA opposition.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's budget for the next fiscal year cuts critical prevention and intervention programs for youth by 41 percent over this year's levels. This would result in an overall 67 percent decrease in federal funding for juvenile justice programs over the last three years. These budget cuts target programs designed to provide at-risk youth with the supports they need to be guided to successful adulthood, including youth mentors; after-school programs; mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and family therapy.

"There are no easy solutions to preventing tragedies like the one at Columbine," said Edelman. "But we should implement what we know works—preventing children from having access to guns and providing critical programs for at-risk youth."

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds.