Susan Davis: “Today, we are considering a National Defense Authorization Act measure that would transfer thousands of military weapons…”

“Today, we are considering a National Defense Authorization Act measure that would transfer thousands of military weapons to a civilian nonprofit, the Civilian Marksmanship Program. These guns will then make their way into the public for purchase. The Army has recommended against this proposal. One of their concerns, not a surprise, is public safety. For us to go against the recommendations of our own military on this matter is, frankly, absurd. Every single day, our country--our country--experiences horrific gun violence, and the last thing we should be doing is going against the advice of our military and putting more guns onto American streets. Those who are in support of the measure claim that transferring these weapons to the Civilian Marksmanship Program will save the government the cost of storing these guns, but the amount of money to be saved to store some weapons is really negligible, and that small cost is nothing compared to the potential cost to human life by unleashing these handguns for the public to purchase. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to employ common sense here. Listen to the advice of our Army and support the motion to instruct.”