Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the last point I would like to make is that included in the bill that came before us is not only an opportunity to change some of the circumstances that might have saved lives in Newtown but also to address some underlying issues of gun violence that is not resulting in a mass killing but the killing on a day-to-day basis of innocent people. A measure I have joined Senator Leahy, Senator Kirk, and Senator Collins in introducing relates to straw purchases. These are purchases by some individual who does not have a problem in their background that would disqualify them from buying a gun. They buy a gun and then turn it over to someone who has a problem. This straw purchase or third- party purchase happens way too often. In the city of Chicago, where we are making progress toward reducing gun violence and murder, in a recent survey of the crime guns confiscated in the last 10 years, 9 percent of them in the city of Chicago came from the State of Mississippi. The State of Mississippi is not contiguous to Illinois. It is a long way away. But clearly someone had started an industry of buying guns easily in Mississippi and moving them up the interstate system all the way to Chicago and selling them to the gang bangers and the thugs and criminal elements in this city. Another 20 percent of the guns came from one gun shop outside the city of Chicago, in the suburbs. We know exactly where it is--it is in Riverdale, IL.…”