Barbara Boxer: “Thank you very much, Madam President. I wish to again let Senators know where we are. At 2 o'clock, we will be voting on…”

“Thank you very much, Madam President. I wish to again let Senators know where we are. At 2 o'clock, we will be voting on a gun amendment. I would hope this gun amendment would not get the 60 votes required because I believe it is dangerous. Even though Senator Coburn says it would not allow guns to be carried on critical infrastructure such as dams and locks and reservoirs, we now have two studies that say, in fact, it would allow that. According to the Bush administration, this critical water infrastructure is a target for terrorists. We are now entering into a stage when our leaders are talking about homegrown terror, and we do not have to look too much further than Boston to understand this is a problem. Why would we want to have on a water infrastructure bill an amendment that allows people to come in with guns and go right to the heart of those critical water infrastructure projects--those dams, those reservoirs, those locks, et cetera--particularly since the corps already allows, for recreational use, the use of guns for hunting, target practice or fishing. That is already allowed. There are rules. This is not comparable to the National Park Service. We could get into another debate on that. That one--I know some people here voted for that, to allow extensive guns being carried on parkland. That change was made. The corps is a different situation. The Park Service act like police. They can come in. They can quell a disturbance. They are armed. They are trained.…”