Lucille Roybal-Allard: “Mr. Chairman I rise in strong support of H.R. 4296, the Assault Weapons Ban. In fairness to legal gun-owners, it exempts…”

“Mr. Chairman I rise in strong support of H.R. 4296, the Assault Weapons Ban. In fairness to legal gun-owners, it exempts 2,650 types of firearms created for hunting or homes protection and bans 19 types of deadly, semiautomatic assault weapons originally designed by the military for one purpose--deadly combat. These guns are the weapons of choice for drug traffickers, mass murderers and hate groups. They are frequently linked to the injury or death of police officers in the line of duty. In my district, as in the rest of the Nation, these weapons are the most frequent cause of random, senseless deaths associated with gang violence. It is this random violence which has created a climate of fear throughout America and leads our children to plan their funerals, instead of their graduations. H.R. 4296 will make our communities safer, and restore hope in our children for the chance to learn and play and grow up in a society not imprisoned by fear. We must not ignore this historic opportunity to reduce violent crime on American streets.”