[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 11, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   H.R. 4296, ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the assault 
weapons ban on the 19 specific semiautomatic weapons and their copycats 
which are being used against the civilian population of America.
  Assault weapons in the hands of naive and hardened law breakers are 
causing carnage on the streets of our Nation and I want to stop the 
cycle of escalation of homicide that has tragically come to symbolize 
life in the United States today. Certainly the right to bear arms does 
not mean you should be able to run around with a grenade launcher, 
street sweeper or other military hardware. The primary purpose, perhaps 
the only purpose, for such weapons, is the assault on another person.
  For years hunting and game laws have sharply limited the number of 
shotgun shells in semi-automatic hunting weapons; certainly our society 
values the life of our human population enough to pass laws limiting 
such weapons and the accompanying high capacity ammunition feeding 
clips that are being employed today to main and murder people on the 
streets of America.
  Some of my colleagues have expressed the position that the answer to 
crime in our communities is not to ban assault weapons but to be 
tougher on criminals. Certainly no one measure is going to solve the 
problems of violence and crime in our Nation.
  Deterence by increased penalty for crimes involving such assault 
weapons should be pursued and in fact such circumstances are now 
considered by the court, but only after the crime has occurred and the 
penalties levied. It is clear that such assault weapons embolden those 
who possess them, resulting in serious harm to the people of this 
Nation and that is why the Congress should take reasonable action to 
control such weapons. I voted for the crime bill and I am voting for 
the Assault Weapons Ban Act because I believe that to make our Nation a 
safer place to live and work we must address this problem on several 
levels. We must work to prevent crime as well as to respond to the 
reality of crime. We need to expand options for our young people, to 
have sufficient police in our communities, and to implement strong 
penalties for those who commit crimes. The problem of crime is one of 
the greatest concerns of the American people. The crime bill will mean 
working on prevention, rehabilitation, and deterrence together, 
providing new tools and programs enlisted to fight crime in our 
communities.
  An assault weapons ban is a key element in an overall effort to 
reduce violence in our society, and I believe it is an important one. 
We need to send the message that there is no place on our streets for 
assault weapons.

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