Political Quotes

“I am pleased to announce the introduction of legislation by Representatives Nita Lowey, Carolyn McCarthy, and myself which would prevent the purchase or possession of a firearm by a nonpermanent resident alien. Unfortunately, this legislation comes too late to prevent the tragedy which occurred at the Empire State Building last month, when a man who had been in the United States for just 3 weeks shot seven tourists, killing one, and then killed himself. Such a violent crime under any circumstances is shocking but the fact that the gunman had been in this country for such a short time and had established residence at a Florida hotel was unbelievable. My colleagues and I have introduced this legislation in the hopes that we can prevent future crimes committed by individuals who are, essentially, tourists. Current Federal law requires that legal aliens live in a State for a least 90 days before purchasing a firearm. I applaud the President's recent directive which strengthens the law by mandating that legal aliens must produce a photo ID and documentation to prove they have been in country for at least 3 months before purchasing a weapon. However, I fail to understand why a nonpermanent resident alien should be allowed to own a gun under any circumstances. The Lowey-Engel-McCarthy legislation is very simple. If you are not a permanent resident of our Nation you quite simply should not be allowed to buy a gun.”