Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1181. As a combat veteran in the Iraq war, the issues we are debating this afternoon are deeply personal to me. Veteran suicide has reached crisis levels in this country, and our failure to do more to help veterans in desperate need of mental health care is truly shameful. Unfortunately, Republicans have brought forward a bill today that will make this crisis even worse. Here is the plain truth. If we allow people with serious mental illnesses to purchase dangerous weapons, we are putting their lives and the lives of their loved ones at risk. Mr. Speaker, at a time when more veterans are taking their own lives, we should be debating how to get them greater resources and support, not easier access to firearms. At least 10--10--esteemed military leaders, including David Petraeus, Michael Hayden, and Stanley McChrystal all agree. Here is what they wrote in a heartfelt letter to Congress: ``Our Nation is facing a devastating epidemic of veteran suicide. The bill you are debating comes at a time when an average of 20 veterans commit suicide each day, two-thirds of whom do so by buying a firearm. ``We know that nondeployed veterans are at a 61 percent higher risk of suicide compared to the American civilian population, and deployed veterans are at a 41 percent higher risk'' than the American civilian population.…”