Newt Gingrich: “let me say I think this is a very sad day for this House on two standards. It is a sad day procedurally, and it is a sad…”

“let me say I think this is a very sad day for this House on two standards. It is a sad day procedurally, and it is a sad day in substance. Let me talk first about procedure. After 40 years of the Democrats controlling the House, as they get further and further away from normal Americans and from the average citizens, they more and more rig the game by restricting rules. Back in 1977 and 1978, only 15 percent of the rules were restrictive; 85 percent were open. Today in this Congress so far, 79 percent of the rules, virtually 4 out of every 5, are restricted by the Democrats because they are afraid. Let us take this bill. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum], a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, of great standing, a man who knows the subject, had a very powerful amendment which would have focused on violent criminals, which would have, in fact, added a new felony for possessing one of these firearms in the commission of a crime, would have counted it as the second strike towards a three strikes and you go to life imprisonment, would have made this bill not just harass the middle class, irritate people who honestly own a gun, but actually go after violent criminals: lock them up, do something real about the dangerous people who haunt our streets.…”