Political Quotes

“I would say that if we were united in our desire to actually get to a solution, something that could make a difference, I believe we could. But unfortunately this debate has been hijacked by some who believe that, frankly, the right to keep and bear arms is not an individual right under the Constitution, and they are willing to presume that the government is right because out of mere suspicion your name appears on a secret classified list. I want to defeat the terrorists. I want to protect the American people. But I don't want to sacrifice who we are as a country and our conviction that constitutional rights are important, including the basic rights in the Bill of Rights, including the right to defend yourself and your family under the Second Amendment. There is a principle involved here, and in our desire to get to a solution, which I applaud--and the Senator is a reasonable person whom I have worked with in the past and whom I hope to work with in the future--in our haste to try to deal with this issue, we should not violate the very fundamental principles of our Constitution. That is really what is at stake. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.”