[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 60 (Friday, March 31, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     ANNIVERSARY OF BRADY SHOOTING

                                 ______


                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 1995
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the Republican assault on sane gun 
control laws begins. A hearing will be held on the repeal of the 
assault weapons ban. And that is only the beginning. Gov. George Allen 
of Virginia wants felony-free citizens to be able to carry concealed 
weapons in public.
  Never mind that gun control measures have been a God send for our 
children's safety. The Brady law alone has stopped 70,000 felons and 
other prohibited individuals from buying handguns. But facts do not 
seem to matter to the Republican juggernaut bank-rolled by the NRA.
  The gun industry with its fistful of dollars has churned out 210 
million guns into circulation in this country. That's more than one gun 
per adult.
  Moreover, the gun industry provides yet another example of corporate 
welfare. It is exempt from the product safety laws which cover every 
other industry. This special treatment must stop.
  I have introduced the Firearms Safety and Violence Prevention Act, 
H.R. 915, which would halt this form of welfare for the gun industry by 
recognizing firearms for what they are--inherently dangerous consumer 
products. The bill would give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and 
Firearms [ATF] the ability to set safety standards, issue recalls of 
defective firearms, and mandate warnings.
  The firearms industry's assertion that guns don't kill you rings as 
hollow as the discredited promises of tobacco companies that cigarettes 
don't cause cancer. For more than a century, America's gun 
manufacturers have operated in the shadows, avoiding public scrutiny. 
It is time for Congress to look behind the gun store counter to the 
industry that manufactures these deadly weapons.


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