Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I know that pending is the firearms legislation, which America is watching very closely, and which we will speak to at length as we proceed to this measure. I, of course, will come to the floor at that time to address some of the issues which were brought up in the Senate Judiciary Committee. One of the bills that is being brought forward under this firearms act is one related to straw purchases--purchases by an individual who can legally purchase a gun so that firearm can be given to someone who could not because of a felony conviction, for example, or perhaps mental instability. Those third-party purchases--straw purchases--have become the scourge of many communities. One of them is the city of Chicago, IL, which I represent. We found that about 9 percent of the crime guns confiscated in Chicago over the last 10 years came from the State of Mississippi-- Mississippi. So how did those guns get from Mississippi to the mean streets and alleys and backways in Chicago? Well, some people decided they could make some money by filling up the trunk of a car with easily purchased guns in Mississippi, driving up to Chicago, and selling them to gangbangers and thugs and drug kingpins in some dark alley late at night. That is a profitable business for some, but it has proliferated firearms and weapons in the city of Chicago to a level that many people find incredible. Our superintendent of police, Garry McCarthy, came to Chicago from the New York City area.…”