Political Quotes

“On Mother's Day 2000, half a million mothers and others marched on Washington to demonstrate their fury at the number of children killed by gun violence last year. Their goal: to convince Congress to pass even more laws restricting citizen access to handguns. All in all, it was quite a spectacle. But while it reflects the modern American view that every ill can be remedied through the power of law, it seems to me the real--and only--question to be answered is will more laws actually produce the result we all seek? Before we can answer that question, Mr. President, we must examine this one: is the recent spate of gun violence involving children the result of rising levels of crime and escalating gun ownership, or something else? Let's look at the facts: During the 1060s, 1970s, and 1980s, gun violence increased dramatically. During the 1990s, however, the numbers actually began to decline, with school violence of the type exhibited at Columbine falling precipitously to the point where kids today are probably the safest they've been in decades. In 1996 (the last year for which statistics are available), 1,134 Americans died in accidental shootings--the lowest level ever recorded. Only 42 were under the age of 10. Yet more than 2,400 10-year-olds died that year in motor vehicle accidents, another 800 were drowned, and well over 700 died from fire.”