Political Quotes

“this Chamber is very, very close to doing the right thing and passing the assault weapons ban. This vote could very well be decided this afternoon by those in this body who want to do the right thing and vote for this bill but who are feeling enormous political pressure from some very powerful interests. My colleagues have probably heard from these interests, have probably heard the passage of this bill is a slippery slope that could end up in the banning of hunting rifles from law-abiding citizens. Mr. Speaker, I am here to say that nothing could be farther from the truth. Hunting is a strong tradition and heritage in my State of Maine. There are many thousands of hunting sportsmen and women who own and use firearms, they are responsible citizens and should not have to worry if politicians or bureaucrats from Washington are going to deny them or their children the right to own their firearm and carry on this proud tradition and heritage. But let us be clear. This vote is not about the firearms used by hunters in Maine and America. It is a vote to ban from our streets military assault weapons that were designed to kill onrushing enemy troops in close combat, killing machines designed to kill large numbers of people in very short periods of time.”