Rhode Island official is first quadriplegic elected to House

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When James Langevin was 16, a .45-caliber bullet tore through his neck in a Warwick, R.I., police department and killed his dream of becoming a cop. But the accidental shooting triggered his political ambitions, and 20 years later, Langevin is the first quadriplegic elected to Congress.

Heading to Washington with an agenda focused on universal health care, education improvements and campaign finance reform, the 36-year-old Rhode Island Democrat intends to use his life story to work for tougher gun control laws.

He wants a seven-day waiting period for all gun purchases and mandatory trigger locks, but admits those laws wouldn't have prevented the shooting that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

"My accident happened at the hands of a trained weapons expert, and I know what harm weapons can do," Langevin said. "I want to make sure that there are laws in place to limit the risks. I don't want what happened to me to happen to a kid."

At 13, Langevin enrolled in a cadet training program with the Warwick Police Department. He figured it was a sure way to a badge and uniform and eventually, the FBI.

Three years later, while waiting in the police department locker room to start his shift, his life nearly ended.

Not realizing there was a bullet in the chamber of his .45 semiautomatic pistol, a police officer showing off the new gun aimed into his locker and pulled the trigger. The slug ricocheted off the metal and tunneled through Langevin's neck, severing his spine.

"It was like going through a death," Langevin said of the five months he spent hospitalized after the accidental 1980 shooting. "The life I had known before I'd never know again. That's what was scary. All of a sudden, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life."

He had it figured out eight years later after receiving a court settlement with the city of Warwick and beginning his first term as a state representative. He served in the Statehouse until 1994 before being elected secretary of state. Last Tuesday, Rhode Island voters easily sent Langevin to the U.S. House. He succeeds Rep. Robert Weygand, a Democrat who gave up the seat for a failed Senate run.

"I didn't want to turn away from public service, and I was inspired to give something back to the community" Langevin said. "I thought of a new way to do it, and focused my energy on politics."

He used his five-year perch as Rhode Island's secretary of state to push for open government, a key issue in the state. He created a public information center in the Statehouse and gained notice for pushing the Democrat-led General Assembly to comply with Open Meeting laws.

Before he starts introducing bills on Capitol Hill, there's the matter of settling in. To ensure a smooth transition for Langevin and his motorized wheelchair, fellow Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy spent a few weeks before Election Day requesting special privileges for his new colleague.

Langevin won't have to go through office lottery most freshman must face. Instead, he likely will be assigned a ground-floor office in the easily accessible Cannon building.

Only one of the four entrances to the House is wheelchair-accessible, and he'll need additional space at his House chamber seat to position his wheelchair.

Because he has limited mobility in his arms and no use of his hands, a special voting machine will have to be rigged at his seat.

The renovations will be the first of their kind made for a House member. The Senate made similar changes after Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a triple-amputee, was elected in 1996.

"When (Cleland) heard I was coming, he said he already had the Senate ramped up, now it's my turn to get the House ramped up," Langevin said.

The House architect has met with Langevin, and the congressman-elect's staff expects his needs to be met by the time he's sworn in to office in January.

"The phone has been ringing off the hook with people calling to see what needs to be done for Jim," said Katie Donohue, Langevin's campaign manager. "We're sure he'll settle in smoothly."

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