[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 130 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PERSONAL PROTECTION ACT

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                               speech of

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2004

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, all Americans know that gun 
control continues to be a serious subject of debate, right here in the 
District of Columbia, in the State of Georgia, which I represent, and 
across this nation. It's an issue of personal safety and of 
constitutional rights embedded in the fabric of our Nation.
  I agree with those who want to restrict criminal access to guns. 
However, this must be done without compromising the constitutional 
rights of our law-abiding citizens.
  I strongly support the right of law-abiding adults to purchase and 
own firearms for the protection of their homes and families, 
collecting, target shooting, and hunting. That's why I have and will 
continue to oppose any proposal that threatens this basic Second 
Amendment right.
  I realize the concerns of some Americans who, in the wake of school 
shootings and other heinous illegal acts, call for stricter gun control 
measures. I understand those concerns. That's why I fully support 
measures that call for tougher sentences for the illegal use of 
firearms, to get offenders off the streets and out of our communities. 
I support stiff sentences of juveniles who use firearms illegally, and 
I support increasing the maximum penalty for adults who illegally 
provide those juveniles with firearms. That's how we must keep our 
schools and communities safe.
  Mr. Speaker, tougher gun laws should not infringe on the rights of 
law-abiding citizens, and Congress has both the authority and the 
responsibility to ensure that they do not. So, the question before us 
today is not whether Congress can repeal the District of Columbia's 
handgun and self-defense bans, it is whether Congress should do so. The 
U.S. Constitution, the constitutions of 44 States, Federal law, the 
laws of all 50 States, the vast majority of Georgians and of Americans 
recognize the right for law abiding citizens to use firearms for 
protection, and for other legal purposes. Only the District of Columbia 
prohibits a person from having a firearm assembled and loaded at home, 
for the purpose of self-defense. I believe that that's wrong. We should 
pass this bill and allow D.C. residents to protect themselves from 
crime.

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