"My wife would not be sitting in this seat, she would not have been sitting here today if we had stronger background checks."
"If we can all agree that criminals and those adjudicated as mentally ill should not buy firearms, why should we not try to plug the loopholes in the law that allow them to buy guns without background ..."
"Lives are at risk when responsible people fail to stand up for laws that will keep guns out of the hands of those who will use them to commit murder, especially mass murder."
"The bill I introduced last week against gun trafficking will similarly prove helpful and I believe will become an accepted part of our crime control framework."
"No one can take away those rights or their guns. Second Amendment rights are the foundation on which our discussion rests."
"I look forward to a constructive dialogue with your Committee."
"I also want to take the opportunity to congratulate Gabby's friend and much respected former colleague, Jeff Flake, on his new role as Arizona's junior Senator."
"We are also anti-gun violence, and we believe that in this debate Congress should look not toward special interests and ideology, which push us apart, but toward compromise, which brings us together."
"But rights demand responsibility. And this right does not extend to terrorists, it does not extend to criminals, and it does not extend to the mentally ill."
"We believe wholly and completely in the Second Amendment and that it confers upon all Americans the right to own a firearm for protection, collection, and recreation."
"Now, we have some ideas on how we can take responsibility."
"Jared Loughner, the guy, the Tucson shooter, was an admitted drug user."