Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Durbin for the question. Illinois and Connecticut have amongst the toughest background check laws in the Nation, but our laws are no good if the State next door to us has amongst the weakest laws in the Nation. Our Nation's system of State- based background check laws is only as strong as the weakest link. If we don't have a national commitment to ensure that individuals who are criminals or who are potential terrorists don't buy guns, then it really doesn't matter what each State does. That is why this background check proposal, which is a bipartisan proposal and which is supported by 90 percent of Americans and 85 percent of gun owners, is such a win- win, because it speaks to the very real fear that Americans have of continued terror attacks but also addresses this catastrophe of regular, everyday urban gun violence. By the time we are done today, Senator Durbin, probably 80 people-- somewhere in that neighborhood--will be killed by guns, many of them in cities throughout this country. This is a means to both get at the question of terrorist violence and at the question of urban gun violence. I thank the Senator for joining us on the floor. Mr. President, I yield to the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee for a question.”