[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E498-E499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GUN BAN REPEAL ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 22, 1996

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 125.
  We are voting to repeal a ban on assault weapons and large capacity 
ammunition clips that is supported overwhelmingly by police who put 
their lives on the line for us. They call the weapons banned by the 
1994 law cop killer guns.
  In a recent study by Handgun Control, assault weapons accounted for 
17.4 percent of fatal police shootings. In another study, 18.5 percent 
of the shootings, where the gun was identified, involved a gun with a 
large-capacity magazine of more than 10 rounds.
  This ban has widespread support from the people who care for gunshot 
victims--doctors, nurses and medical personnel; religious leaders who 
are trying to end the violence in our communities; the teachers and 
administrators who are concerned about guns in our schools; responsible 
gunowners who want to end gun violence; and the children whose very 
future is put at risk.
  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms data revealed that 
although semiautomatic assault weapons comprise less than one percent 
of the privately owned guns in America, they account for 8.4 percent of 
all firearms traced to crime from 1988 to 1991.
  During 1986-1991, 20,526 assault weapons were traced to crime, and of 
those, 1,349 were specifically traced to murders in the United States 
and 4,031 were linked to drug traffickers. The congressional assault 
weapons ban did not take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens 
who legally owned their weapons before the enactment of the assault 
weapons ban in 1994.

[[Page E499]]

  The Members who vote for the repeal of the assault weapons ban are 
voting for a bill that will resume manufacturing and importation of 
killing machines. After President Bush banned the importation of 
assault weapons in 1989, the number of imported assault weapons traced 
to crime dropped 45 percent the next year. If we vote against repealing 
the ban, we will be giving the assault weapons ban the time it deserves 
to reduce gun violence and save more lives.
  I ask that my colleagues vote against this bill. We can save more 
lives by keeping assault weapons off our streets.

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