Louise Slaughter: “Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that more New Yorkers die on a yearly basis from gunshot wounds than die from…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that more New Yorkers die on a yearly basis from gunshot wounds than die from vehicular accidents, and that the cost to the American health care system from gunshot wounds is $1.4 billion a year and rising. Mr. Speaker, whatever the gun advocates say, the facts prove a different story: when a firearm is used for crime, it is 19 times more likely to be an assault weapon than some other type of gun. When a police officer is shot to death, it is 18 times more likely that an assault weapon was used. These deadly machines are the armament of choice for the gangsters and the drug dealers infesting our neighborhoods. It is clear why criminals prefer assault weapons. Their rapid rate of fire and their random spray make them the most dangerous and fearsome guns around. In just five horrible seconds, an Uzi can fire 30 bullets. In the underworld of gang warfare, this destructive power is the key to success. Mr. Speaker, the American people are fed up with teenaged tyrants packing AK-47's. They are fed up with the crazed loners who randomly fire assault weapons to terrorize schoolyards and offices and commuter trains. Parents are fed up with sending their children out into streets that have become war zones. Assault weapons are not used primarily for target shooting or for hunting.”