Karen Thurman: “H.R. 4296 is a public relations approach to crime prevention, election year valium to calm constituents' fear of crime.…”

“H.R. 4296 is a public relations approach to crime prevention, election year valium to calm constituents' fear of crime. But nothing in this bill will take a single gun out of the hands of criminals. I have heard people smugly declare that true hunters don't need these weapons, so therefore they should be banned. This is not about hunting, or target practice. This is about protection. This is about giving people the chance to protect their families from criminals with a proven disregard for human life or property. Just like police, who are exempt from this bill, private citizens protecting their families deserve a fighting chance. The proponents of this bill claim support from law enforcement. The sheriffs I know do not support this legislation. People are crying out to us to do something about crime and punish those who misuse firearms. In Florida, in 1975, we impose a 3-year minimum mandatory sentence on anyone committing a crime with a handgun. Large billboards with an orange background and a black silhouette of a handgun were placed along our highways and posters were placed in convenience store windows and retail establishment in high-crime areas. The message was simple: Do the Crime--Do the Time. Florida imposes a mandatory 3-year prison term for using a gun in a crime. The results were dramatic. During the first year following passage of the 3-year mandatory, gun crimes were down and the armed robbery rate alone was down 40 percent.”