Harold Rogers: “due to a personal tragedy, the death of my closest friend, Dr. Stephen Kelley, I will be unable to cast my vote today…”

“due to a personal tragedy, the death of my closest friend, Dr. Stephen Kelley, I will be unable to cast my vote today against H.R. 4296, the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, so that I may attend his funeral in Somerset, KY. While I loathe to miss any vote, particularly one as important as this, there are rare and extraordinary occasions when we must put family and friends above all else. This is one of those occasions. However, I want to reiterate to my colleagues my continuing staunch opposition of H.R. 4296, the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. Had I been able to cast my vote today, my vote would have been an unequivocal no. My position has remained unchanged since I cast my vote against the assault weapons ban in 1991. I remain opposed to the assault weapons ban for the following reasons: First, it is clearly unconstitutional. The second amendment gives every law-abiding citizen the right to bear arms. Once again, Congress is intent on trampling the constitutional rights of every law-abiding American citizen. Second, gun control is not crime control. One needs to look no further than our Nation's capitol to see that this is true. Washington, DC has the strictest gun control laws in the country, and the highest per capita murder rate of any city in this country. Third, contrary to the antigun lobby's claims, assault weapons are not the weapon of choice for violent criminals. Less than one half of 1 percent of all violent crimes involve assault weapons.”