Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to this rule and the bill it makes in order. This bill is misguided because it penalizes good law-abiding American citizens, not the criminals who are the cause of the problem. The criminals will ignore this law. The law abiding will have their rights taken away. In the Rules Committee yesterday I moved to make in order a substitute for this bill offered by the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum]. The McCollum substitute is a rational solution to the problem of gun violence. It provides mandatory prison terms for use of a firearm during a State crime of violence or State drug trafficking crime. This approach penalizes the criminal who is guilty of abusing a gun, not law-abiding American citizens. My motion was turned down in the Rules Committee and the main objection was that the substitute would have required a waiver of points of order. But, Mr. Speaker, this rule before us today waives all points of order against consideration of the bill and also waives all points of order against the committee substitute. Why should our substitute not have been given the same waiver? The rule also prohibits all other amendments. Mr. Speaker, this bill is the second shoe to drop on the way to taking away the right of Americans to bear arms. The first shoe to drop was the Brady bill which was signed into law last November. Mark my words, this will turn out to be a centipede with a lot of shoes.”