Timothy Penny: “I must admit I lack enthusiasm for this bill. Frankly, I think the rhetoric on both sides has been overblown. Based on…”

“I must admit I lack enthusiasm for this bill. Frankly, I think the rhetoric on both sides has been overblown. Based on the assurance just given by my colleague from New York, I intend to vote for the bill on final passage. I represent a rural district where guns are prevalent and gun crimes are rare. Consequently, I have always been skeptical of gun control legislation, feeling that the focus should be on the criminal, not the legitimate gun owner. I voted against an assault weapon ban a few years ago because of the open-ended definitions in that bill. Today's measure is much tighter and more defensible, listing 19 specific weapons and prohibiting certain features which are not essential to hunting and competition shooting. Will this bill make an appreciable difference in the incidence of gun crimes in America? Probably not. On the other hand, do the provisions of this bill represent a hardship for legitimate gun owners? Most certainly not. This bill protects all currently owned guns. This bill restricts only a handful of weapons possessed of certain features. This bill does focus on the criminal by imposing a mandatory prison sentence on those who commit crimes with semiautomatic weapons. This bill is not a solution to the bloody crime culture that stains the streets of so many communities in our Nation, and it may be true that this vote today is largely symbolic. But symbols can carry a message.…”