Political Quotes

“I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4296, legislation to ban so-called assault weapons. George Washington referred to firearms as the ``American People's liberty teeth and keystone under independence.'' Yet, today we are faced with modifying the rights of lawful people to keep and bear arms. We are asked to divide guns into groups of ``good'' and ``bad,'' based upon Hollywood's portrayal of certain semiautomatic weapons as the ``weapon of choice'' among criminals. Mr. Chairman, we would better serve the cause of crime fighting by dividing people into groups. To truly fight crime and end violence, we must concentrate not on guns or types of guns, but upon who is using, or misusing them. Those in this body who promote the nonsense that guns cause crime and that the poor criminals just somehow can't help themselves are aiding and abetting our crime problem by misdirecting our time and resources away from real solutions. I urge my colleagues to oppose the ban.”