Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong opposition to H.R. 1181, the ``so-called'' Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. Mr. Speaker, twenty veterans a day tragically take their own lives. Just ONE veteran taking his or her own life is one too many. But twenty every day is an epidemic. It is unconscionable, and unacceptable. With two-thirds of veteran suicides being carried out with firearms, this bill practically pulls the trigger for veterans at risk. H.R. 1181 threatens the safety of our nation's veterans and potentially others; by providing those veterans suffering from mental illness with greater ease in obtaining a firearm. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a critical tool in stopping those who want to do harm to themselves or others. If passed, this bill would dangerously alter the protocols for including a veteran in the database when he or she has been assigned a fiduciary. In addition, over one hundred-seventy thousand mentally ill veterans would be removed from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Instead of wasting time and energy on senseless budget cuts and harmful bills like H.R. 1181, this Congress should be focused on strengthening protocols so that no veteran struggling with mental illness ever falls through the cracks. Just two months ago, a veteran, Esteban Santiago, suffering from mental illness fell through the cracks and killed five people at my home airport in Fort Lauderdale. The current protocols failed him.…”