Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 3, 1994
today is day 3 of the Brady law and the early evidence is already in: careful gun control works, and works well. During the first 48 hours of the new law, convicted criminals and mentally unstable people all across the Nation have been denied guns. In Utah, 4 felons were refused guns; in Kentucky, 8; in Colorado, 17; in Nevada, 6; in Louisiana, 10; in just one city in Texas, 13 were turned away; and in Kansas, 5. And the list goes on and on across the Nation. Criminals are denied access to guns without doing any harm to the law-abiding gun owners. In fact the attorney general of Kansas estimated that as many as 10 percent of those trying to buy guns in Kansas will be caught by the Brady law and they won't get a handgun. Law enforcement, parents, concerned citizens, and community leaders are delighted. We don't know exactly how many lives may be saved, how many stores won't be held up, how many kids won't be shot on the way to school, how many domestic disputes won't end in blazing gunfire. But we do know this: lives will be saved. We know that over 60 people who shouldn't have a handgun in just the 7 States I have cited won't walk away with a handgun, thanks to the Brady law. Mr. Speaker, the irony is that only the NRA thinks this is a bad thing. Only the NRA will keep pretending that a disastrous assault on the constitution is going on here. Only the NRA will keep falsely claiming the Brady law won't help in the battle against handgun violence.
Said by
Charles E. Schumer
New York

Editor's note · Context

The speaker discusses the early impact of the Brady law on gun control and its effectiveness in preventing access to firearms by criminals.

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