[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 41 (Monday, March 29, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, next week the House goes into 
recess. Yet the House has failed to address the expiration of the 
assault weapons ban. We in Congress should be looking at this again. 
September 13 is when it expires. We have 168 days to take care of this. 
The good news for terrorists, cop killers, and drug dealers is that 
they will be back on the streets with the assault weapons of their 
choice.

                              {time}  1930

  Since I took the floor last week, over 400 Americans have died from 
gun violence in this country. By the time the House comes back, we will 
have lost another 800 Americans in this country. But instead of doing 
the commonsense thing, instead of having a sense of urgency, the House 
has stood idly by.
  Some seem content to let the assault weapons ban expire on September 
13. I am not. The ban has kept us safer for the past 10 years. There is 
no reason why we should let assault weapons back on the streets. It has 
also respected the rights of gun owners, protecting the hunters, law-
abiding citizens buying the guns that they want. But again do we need 
assault weapons back on the streets? Only criminals have been kept from 
their gun of choice. This explains why 66 percent of American gun 
owners support renewing the ban. The American people support it by even 
more overwhelming margins.
  Once again, our Nation's law enforcement officers are leading the 
fight to keep the ban in place. The gun industry continues to evade the 
ban with copycat weapons like these. These are the ones that were 
banned. These are the ones that are out there on the streets now. They 
still do the same deadly thing. They take down as many people as 
possible in the shortest amount of time. This also has to stop.
  I came to Congress to reduce gun violence in this country. I fought 
for commonsense, effective gun measures. That is why I have introduced 
H.R. 2038, which would renew the ban but also close the loopholes so 
that these guns cannot be back out on the streets either. We cannot let 
special interests control this Congress. We have 168 days left to renew 
it.
  Let me say one other thing. Gun violence in this country costs the 
health care system over $1 billion a year, $1 billion. That is not 
counting the pain and the suffering that goes to the communities and to 
the families, those that might never walk again, those that end up 
never being able to go back to work. And, by the way, the American 
people pay half of those costs because insurance runs out for those 
that did have insurance, but, because rehab is so long, they run out of 
insurance.
  Why do we tolerate this? Why are the American people not fighting? 
Here in Congress many a vote or many a rule, many a measure is won or 
lost by one vote. The American people have to understand they have a 
voice in this House. This is the people's House.
  I am asking the American people to get involved in this issue. Do 
they actually want assault weapons back on the street? I think there is 
enough fear in this country now with the war on terrorism. Do they 
honestly want possibly the terrorists that are in this country in cells 
to be able to go to a gun show and pick up an assault weapon? Remember, 
in D.C., we had two people with a Bushmaster that paralyzed this whole 
area, cost millions of dollars. By the way, the Bushmaster was supposed 
to be a banned gun. The deaths that came from that incident can be 
multiplied throughout our cities and throughout our country. Is that 
what the American people want?
  Common sense. Assault weapons, we see them on TV every single night 
in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel. Is that what we want in 
this country? Open warfare between our police officers, drug dealers, 
gangs? Wake up, America. We need America's help in the House. They have 
the right to call their Senators and their congressmen. We can do this, 
but we only have 168 days left. Please get involved.

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