Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of H.R. 4296, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. I commend Chairman Schumer and his subcommittee for drafting a bill which is narrowly drawn and focused. This bill targets only a small number of weapons which have no legitimate place in an ordered and civilized society. Let me be unequivocal in saying that I strongly support the right of every American citizen to own a gun. Everyone should be able to protect themselves within their home and their business and use weapons which are designed for legitimate sport and recreational use. However, the weapons which we are attempting to ban are high firepower weapons which are designed for military purposes and have no place in sport or recreational use. Opponents of this ban often argue that the ban will have no effect upon crime in this country. However, since the Bush administration banned the importation of assault weapons in 1989, the number of imported assault weapons traced to crime has declined by 45 percent. On the other hand, the number of domestic assault weapons traced to crime has remained the same. Moreover, these guns comprise only one-half to 1 percent of the firearms in this country, yet they accounted for 8.4 percent of all firearms traced to crime from 1986-91.”