[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE

  (Mr. CASTLE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to express urgency and 
remind the House that the existing ban on semiautomatic assault weapons 
will expire in only a few days, this coming Monday, September 13.
  Reports continue to show that 70 percent of Americans believe that 
the ban should be maintained. In fact, the law enforcement community, 
the health care community, and the administration all agree that this 
ban should be allowed to continue to protect our communities from our 
increased vulnerability associated with allowing semiautomatic weapons 
back on our streets.
  Some say that we do not have the votes to extend this ban, but 
Americans deserve a full debate and a House vote before we allow the 
expiration date to pass.
  There is no reason not to go forward at this point; we have only 5 
days left.
  Do people need an assault weapon to protect their home? No. Do people 
need an assault weapon to hunt? No. Do people need an assault weapon to 
target shoot? No. But criminals use assault weapons to kill.
  The ban should not be allowed to expire. I implore leadership to let 
us vote on continuing the ban.

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