John A. Boccieri: “In closing, I would remind the gentleman as well on the other side that it was a Republican-controlled Congress and a…”

“In closing, I would remind the gentleman as well on the other side that it was a Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican President who allowed us to get $11 trillion in debt when the last Democratic-controlled White House had a $5.6 trillion projected surplus. So, now that the facts are straight, I just want to be clear that this legislation is about amending the Federal bankruptcy codes, which have already been used to exempt furniture, musical instruments, jewelry, and other household goods, to be allowed to exempt people's heirlooms, their firearms, that have been passed on from generation to generation. I believe that the majority of Americans agrees with the Second Amendment--the constitutional right that we have to bear arms. We have continually upheld its validity for hundreds of years because, in many cases, a family's guns are heirlooms, treasured pieces of family history, which should not be subjected to financial hardship. I spoke of my grandfather's M1 carbine that has been handed down to me now through two successive generations. One fact, one principle this country was founded upon was the ability of our people to provide their own protection. Bearing this in mind and this historical perspective, we respect the rights of gun owners as a shared value we see amongst Democrats and some Republicans. It is not a Republican or a Democratic issue but a foundational value of American ideals.”