Barbara Boxer: “I think if you went out on the street and you asked any American: Do you think there are people serving in the military…”

“I think if you went out on the street and you asked any American: Do you think there are people serving in the military who, within the last 5 years, were convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or a sex crime or a hate crime or making a terrorist threat that was a phony terrorist threat? They would say: Oh, no; no one like that would be let in, not if they did something like that within the last 5 years. That is what leads me to this commonsense amendment. It is hard for me to believe I have to fight for this. This amendment may not pass, which is stunning to me when I think of how clear the issue is. I guess I would ask a mom or a dad who has a son or a daughter over there, would they want their child in a foxhole with someone who was convicted twice of assault with a deadly weapon. Do you want someone in a foxhole with your son or daughter who was convicted of a sex crime? I think they would say no.”