[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]

 
       PUBLIC SAFETY AND RECREATIONAL FIREARMS USE PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______


                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 1994

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4296, 
the assault weapons ban. The passage of this bill is vital to public 
safety. Semiautomatic guns or assault weapons are used regularly to 
terrorize innocent people by drug traffickers, street gangs, and 
paramilitary extremist groups. It is appalling that these deadly 
weapons--intended to efficiently kill human beings--are freely bought 
and sold in the streets of America. While I support the right to own 
rifles and shotguns for hunting and sport, I do not support the right 
to possess weapons whose sole purpose is to maim or kill human beings.
  Opponents of the assault weapons ban will refer to the second 
amendment to the Constitution in their defense. ``A well regulated 
militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of 
the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.'' However, 
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled over 50 years ago in U.S. against Miller 
that the only purpose of the second amendment's ``right to keep and 
bear arms'' is to assure the effectiveness of State militias. No 
subsequent Federal court has ever struck down a gun control law of any 
kind as a violation of the second amendment. There is no veiled intent 
to usurp the Constitution by the assault weapons ban. In fact, the 
constitution was written to ``* * * establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity.''
  The future of American society rests on our ability to combat the 
rising tide of violence. One hundred five men, women, and children 
dying daily in this country from gun violence is a statistic we can 
stem with the assault weapons ban. In 1989, a ban on the importation of 
43 different types of assault weapons led to a 45-percent decline in 
the number of imported assault weapons traced to crime the following 
year. It should be obvious that H.R. 4296 can go even further to curb 
the flow of weapons into the hands of criminals. The assault weapons 
ban in itself will not solve our crime problems, but whose life are we 
willing to risk without it?

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