Political Quotes

“if this bill fails today, we are no longer a democracy. Eighty percent of the people in this country want to see a ban on assault weapons. This debate is not being controlled by our constituents, it is not being controlled by the 80 percent out there. It is being controlled by a minority here inside the beltway that are again controlled by gun dealers and gun manufacturers, primarily. Mr. Speaker, if this bill does not pass we are no longer a free Nation. Let me tell the Members, they do not have to be in jail. They do not have to be incarcerated to not be free. We as a Nation are not free when we cannot walk down our streets and feel safe. We as a Nation are not free when we cannot stop at a public telephone booth without fear of being molested. We are not free as a Nation if we cannot pull up to a stop light and worry about someone with a gun sitting next to us that is going to blow us away just for the heck of it. Mr. Chairman, if there is any one time that I have seen since I have been in this body, this is an opportunity for us as a body to throw off the shackles, the shackles of special interests, and do what is right for this Nation, what 80 percent of the people in our country know is right for this Nation. It is now. I beg of you, I plead for you to fight for our country, because if we do not do it now and we do not do it good this afternoon, we, our children, and our grandchildren are going to regret it for years to come.”