Jon S. Corzine: “the issue before the Senate is pretty clear. This is a simple principle: Will we protect law enforcement officers such…”

“the issue before the Senate is pretty clear. This is a simple principle: Will we protect law enforcement officers such as Officer Lemongello from losing their rights under this bill or won't we? The fact is, the narrow drawing of these exemptions is going to take cases like I identified in my opening remarks--such as buying guns in West Virginia from a negligent dealer, who admitted, themselves, on the same day they had a problem; and it went into the courts--and we are going to take away their rights to sue. This will not fit under those legal constraints. The amendment is clear and straightforward. It says that nothing in this legislation will limit the legal rights of law enforcement personnel. All my amendment does is open that up. There are no conditions. There are no caveats. It is clear. It is simple. My amendment does not add any new rights. It just guarantees that officers will not lose any. I am emotional about these individuals who put their lives on the line all the time. I accept that others feel the same way. But we should not be taking away the rights of these individuals to get into a court and not only pursue the person who perpetrated the crime, but if someone has facilitated that crime, because they have been negligent, that ought to be also someone who is subject to the law. I think we are doing just the opposite.…”