Political Quotes

“I introduce two bills: the Violent Crime Reduction Act of 1997 and the Real Cost of Handgun Ammunition Act of 1997. Their purposes are to ban or heavily tax .25 caliber, .32 caliber, and 9 mm ammunition. These calibers of bullets are used disproportionately in crime. They are not sporting or hunting rounds, but instead are the bullets of choice for drug dealers and violent felons. Every year they contribute overwhelmingly to the pervasive loss of life caused by bullet wounds. Today marks the fourth time in as many Congresses that I have introduced legislation to ban or tax these pernicious bullets. As the terrible gunshot death toll in the United States continues unabated, so too does the need for these bills, which, by keeping these bullets out of the hands of criminals, would save a significant number of lives. The number of Americans killed or wounded each year by bullets demonstrates their true cost to American society. Just look at the data: In 1995, 13,673 people--68.2 percent of all people murdered--were murdered by gunshot. In addition, others lost their lives to bullets by shooting themselves, either purposefully or accidentally. And although no national statistics are kept on bullet-related injuries, studies suggest they occur two to five times more frequently than do deaths. The lifetime risk of death from homicide in U.S. males is 1 in 164, about the same as the risk of death in battle faced by U.S. servicemen in the Vietnam war.”