[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                             PROJECT EXILE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about a 
piece of legislation passed on the floor of this House yesterday, 
Project Exile. Project Exile will send $100 million to qualifying 
States who require a minimum 5-year sentence for criminals who use 
guns. This will send a clear message to criminals that, if they use a 
gun, they will go to jail, and they will go to jail for 5 years.
  Project Exile will reverse the current situation and put criminals 
behind the bars of justice rather than law-abiding citizens of America 
being behind bars on the windows of their own homes.
  Today, the average gun felon is locked up for about 18 months then 
they are free to ravage our neighborhoods and our communities, our 
children's playgrounds, and our schools. I say, if they are going to do 
the crime, they need to do the time.
  Project Exile finally focuses prosecution on criminals rather than 
laying the blame on firearms. Laws on guns only affect law-abiding 
citizens. Criminals, by their very nature, do not obey laws. We need 
common sense enforcement of existing law.
  For decades, the anti-second amendment lobby has attacked gun 
manufacturers and law-abiding citizens, demanding laws and restrictions 
that further impede the inalienable rights of Americans to protect 
themselves, their loved ones, and their property. The anti-second 
amendment lobby has used a series of lies and half truths to spew a 
message and strike fear in the hearts of America.
  David Kopel recently wrote an excellent piece in the April 17 issue 
of the National Review. He listed many of the prominent lies of the 
anti-gun crowd.
  I believe it is critical in any debate that we discuss the merits of 
any issue based on fact, not on myth. Today I want to correct some of 
the misinformation that is out there so that we can base our decisions 
on fact alone.
  The first myth is that, up to 17 children are killed every day in gun 
violence. I agree that even one child killed by a gun is one too many. 
Parents who choose to have guns in their home need to be cautious, 
conscientious, and aware of the gun, where it is, and absolutely 
certain that no child has access to it.
  However, this statistic that 17 children die of gun violence every 
day is not exactly a fact. For that to be true, one has to include 18- 
and 19-year-olds as well as even some young adults. Nearly all of the 
deaths that are counted in this statistic are members of gangs, those 
in the act of committing a crime, or, unfortunately, those committing 
suicide. The actual gun death rate for children under the age of 14 is 
less than the rate of children who drown in swimming pool accidents.
  The second lie is the so-called gun-show loophole. If any individual 
is engaged in the business of selling firearms, no matter where the 
sale takes place, whether it be in a store, his home, or a gun show, 
the seller must file a government registration form on every buyer and 
clear the sale through the FBI's National Instant Check System.

                              {time}  1800

  To hear the President and Vice President say it, and other anti-
second amendment people, one would think that 98 percent of crimes 
occur with guns that were bought at gun shows. In reality, according to 
the 1997 National Institute of Justice study, only 2 percent of guns 
used in crimes were purchased at gun shows.
  The third lie is that the average citizen is committing many of these 
gun crimes out there and that Americans are too ill tempered to be 
trusted with guns. But as my colleagues might guess, the facts tell a 
different picture. Seventy-five percent of murderers have adult 
criminal records. And a large portion of the other 25 percent have 
arrests and convictions as juveniles that are sealed under the cloak of 
youth offender protections, or they are actually teenagers when they 
kill.
  Another interesting note is that 90 percent of adult murderers have 
adult criminal records. Why do we pretend, when we discover that 
criminals commit crimes, why do we pretend to be shocked? Over 99 
percent of the gun owners in America responsibly use the guns that they 
have for hunting or protection. Why does the liberal anti-second 
amendment crowd want to continue placing burden upon burden on the 99 
percent of gun owners who are law-abiding citizens?
  With the passage of Project Exile: The Safe Streets and Neighborhoods 
Act, we are trying to protect law-abiding citizens from these hardened 
gun-shooting criminals, criminals who have no respect for life nor for 
any other individual. Americans for too long have been held hostage by 
the thugs and drug dealers, the robbers and the gang members, and the 
lawless and the outlaw. We must reclaim our streets and reclaim our 
communities and reclaim our American heritage. We need to move forward 
with other important legislation like this.

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