Political Quotes

“I rise today to oppose the assault weapons ban. Today we are going to hear compelling arguments from both sides of this issue. I suggest that instead of focusing on our differences, we look to what I think is our common goal--to eliminate the use of these weapons during the commission of a crime. This legislation will only affect law-abiding citizens who use these sporting rifles in competition as skilled marksmen and collectors. This legislation will not affect the criminals who use firearms during the commission of heinous crimes. Law-abiding citizens agree that there is absolutely no place for these weapons on the streets of America. Only criminals are using these weapons on the streets and most of them get their firearms illegally. We must enforce the laws we already have to keep guns out of the hands of these thugs. We must prosecute these criminals and lock them in jail for a long time. We must eliminate early release from prison and reform the endless appeals process. We must go after the gang leaders and drug dealers who perpetuate these violent crimes. We can start by better enforcing the laws we already have on the books. Passing more guns laws will do nothing to keep criminals from committing crimes with guns. Cities in this country which have the toughest gun control laws, such as Chicago and Washington, DC., have the highest rates of gun violence. If you disarm the people, criminals have the upper-hand and the toughest weapons.”