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Excerpt from Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1994, Vol. 1 The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:37 a.m. in room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Paul Simon and Hon. Howard Metzenbaum presiding. Also present: Senators Brown and Hatch. Opening Statement Of Hon. Howard M. Metzenbaum, A U.S. Senator From The State Of Ohio Senator Metzenbaum. This morning, we are meeting for the first of several hearings on the Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1994, and I am very pleased to have the privilege and opportunity of sharing this hearing with my very good friend and colleague, Senator Paul Simon. As we proceed forward, I would like to announce that there will be an additional witness this morning, Suzanna Gratia, whose name was not on the witness list. She will appear at the end of the hearing. We are meeting for the first of several hearings on the Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1994, which is comprehensive legislation intended to attack the epidemic of gun violence in America. It is time that we do something in this area. It is an absurdity what is occurring in this Nation. We passed the Brady bill; it was significant legislation, but now we have got to take the second step. We are fast becoming a Nation afraid of its own freedom, afraid to come and go because of the risk of getting caught in a crossfire between drug pushers or youth gangs, or being the victim of a drive-by shooting; afraid to run a shop or ride public transportation; afraid to stroll our neighborhoods at night; afraid to let our children play outside or go to school. We are all victims of gun violence. I think most Americans realize that and demand a stronger response from their elected representatives. You do a TV interview and the person who is doing the interview at the conclusion of the interview says, I am with you, I think you are right on target. The American people want us to do something about this terrible tragedy. The Gun V