Charles E. Schumer: “Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the assault weapons ban, and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the assault weapons ban, and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this crucial measure. This ban is not the same bill that the House defeated in 1991. It is stronger and more narrowly drafted. It strictly defines semi-automatic assault weapons by an objective features-based test. It exempts 670 hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns, while explicitly banning 19 weapons that are clearly patterned after machine guns used by military forces for combat use. These weapons are not hunting and sporting firearms. They are weapons of war that are falling into the hands of dangerous criminals and being used everyday to kill and maim innocent people. Let the statistics speak for themselves: Assault weapons comprise less than 1 percent of the guns in circulation in the United States, yet they account for 8 percent of the guns traced in the investigation of criminal activity. Assault weapons are 18 times more likely to kill police than conventional firearms. Since October 1993, there have been 59 shootings in 37 States involving semi-automatic assault weapons. The result: 34 people were killed and more than half were children or teenagers. These weapons are designed for killing people. They do their job well. And for that reason alone they should be taken off the streets now.”