James Barcia: “Today we are being asked to cast a most important vote. We are being asked to risk taking action in violation of the…”

“Today we are being asked to cast a most important vote. We are being asked to risk taking action in violation of the second amendment in order to provide a dangerously false sense of security about needed crime control. I deplore violent crime. I deplore the use of assault weapons in crime. I deplore the use of single shot weapons in crime. I deplore the use of knives in crime. I deplore the use of physical violence in crime. The bill before us today suggests that if we ban certain weapons, the crime will somehow magically disappear. There are some people who like to believe in fairy tales, but I am not one of them. If we are concerned about crime, then we need to make punishment swift and certain. We need to give police the resources they need to deal with criminals. We need to make the courts work faster. We need to protect witnesses so that they do not shy away from testifying about crimes they have witnessed... It makes criminals of law-abiding gun owners, while doing nothing about the illegally obtained weapons that are already out there.”