Political Quotes

“Mr. President, earlier this week, I joined Senator Leahy in introducing the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act. Our bill would strengthen Federal law by making it easier for prosecutors to go after gun traffickers and straw purchasers, those individuals without criminal records who buy firearms for other people so they can bypass the Federal background checks law. Our bill would also fully protect the rights of the vast majority of gun owners who are law-abiding citizens. Straw purchasing is intended to achieve one result: to put a gun in the hands of a criminal who cannot legally obtain one. Today, traffickers, in particular, exploit weaknesses in Federal law by targeting people who can lawfully purchase guns. Then, those traffickers use those guns to commit crimes or sell them to other criminals. They often ship them across State lines, straight up I-95's ``Iron Pipeline'' and other interstate highways. They frequently connect with criminal gangs that are ready to sell or trade those guns for prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl, and commit other crimes. Yet right now, a straw purchaser can be prosecuted only for lying on a Federal form, a paperwork violation. Our bill would create new criminal offenses for straw purchasing, which would help law enforcement officials take down these criminal enterprises. The heroin and fentanyl epidemic is taking a devastating toll on all of our communities.…”