Political Quotes

“Mr. President, since 1968, more Americans have been killed by gun violence in the United States than have died in all the wars in American history combined. This is a heavy toll on public safety and public health. As a body, this Senate can do more and should do more to make our communities safer. It has been too many years, too little action, too much tragedy and heartbreak since the last debate on guns. I know all my colleagues share my utter horror at the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last December. Yet our responses to this and other tragedies are vastly different. I am motivated by them to demand passage of serious, concrete, and comprehensive measures to try to safeguard innocent and precious lives, to prevent the next Newtown, the next Aurora, the next Tucson, and countless other devastating examples of senseless gun violence. Unfortunately, it seems we are on the verge of throwing up our hands and saying there is nothing we can do. But there is something we can do. We will take a series of votes this afternoon to reinstate the assault weapons ban and prohibit high-capacity magazines, amendments I am cosponsoring, and a compromise effort to close the gun show loophole and require better background checks. These measures balance protection for responsible gun ownership with protection for public safety. As someone who has served in the U.S. military, I believe carrying a gun is a serious responsibility.…”