[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GUN BAN REPEAL ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. CHARLIE NORWOOD

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 22, 1996

  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, in spite of what the liberal media would 
have us believe, the semiautomatic weapons outlawed by the 1994 assault 
weapons ban are seldom used in crimes. According to the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, for every 4000 violent crimes reported 
in this country, there was only one of these weapons involved. In fact, 
we would accomplish more by banning kitchen knives.
  What the bill we debate today accomplishes is real crime control--by 
cracking down on criminals who use guns, instead of law-abiding 
gunowners.
  The sheriffs and district attorneys in my district tell me they don't 
need more gun control, they need the ability to take gun-carrying 
criminals off the street, and that's what H.R. 125 does.
  For any criminal in possession of a gun while committing a crime, 
this bill provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in 
prison. For pulling that gun during a crime, 10 years. For firing it, 
20 years. And if the weapon used is a sawed-off rifle or shotgun, they 
automatically get an extra 10 years in prison added to these sentences.
  Furthermore, subsequent violent or drug-related crimes are punished 
by 20 years for having a gun, 25 years for pulling it, and 30 years for 
firing it. And if that gun is a machinegun, or has a silencer or flash 
suppressor, the sentence is life in prison.
  Compare this to the 1994 crime bill's 10-year sentence for crimes 
involving semiautomatic assault weapons, and it's easy for both sides 
of the aisle to determine that this bill does for gun-crime prevention 
what the assault-weapons ban will never do.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 125 to put real teeth into gun 
control against criminals, instead of using the issue of crime as an 
excuse to attack the Bill of Rights.

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