Political Quotes

“I have spoken about the drug problems in America and this issue of foreign policy. But there is another issue which is a continuing concern across America. It is the fact that this Senate and Congress have failed to act on the problem in America of gun violence. It has been a little over a year since the Columbine tragedy, but still the leadership in this Congress refuses to enact sensible gun safety legislation. Most will recall that a little over a year ago, we passed in this Chamber, with the tie breaking vote of Vice President Gore, legislation which would allow us to do background checks on people who buy guns at gun shows. If you go to buy a gun here in America, they are going to ask some questions: Do you have a history of committing a crime; a history of violent mental illness; are you old enough to own a gun? That is part of the Brady law. And with that law, we stopped some 500,000 people from buying guns in America who were, in fact, people with a criminal record or a history of violent and mental illness, or children. We stopped it--half a million of them--but there is a big loophole there. If you go to the so-called gun shows which we have in Illinois and States such as Texas and all over the country, these gun bazaars and flea markets do not have any background checks. You do not have to be John Dillinger and the greatest criminal mind to understand if you need a gun, do not go to a gun dealer, go to a gun show.”