[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


              100 DAYS BEFORE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN EXPIRES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida). 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, as we come back from our 
Memorial Day break, there are less than 100 days before the assault 
weapons ban will expire here in this Congress. We have just 100 days to 
save a law that has saved so many lives. We only have 100 days before 
we can make sure our police officers are not put at risk. We only have 
100 days before we make sure that our communities are not faced once 
again with assault weapons in their midst.
  As we draw close to September 13, when the ban expires, law 
enforcement officers from all over the country are getting together to 
make sure that their voices are heard, to make sure that the assault 
weapons ban stays in place. Just last week, the Police Chief in 
Raleigh, North Carolina, Jane Perlov, demanded renewal of the ban. She 
was participating in a Million Mom March event that is going around the 
country and said, ``Clearly a continued ban on assault weapons will 
make us safer without affecting our rights to possess other rifles, 
pistols, and shotguns for legitimate purposes.''
  This week, the Million Mom March's ``Halt the Assault Tour'' will be 
in St. Louis, Missouri, and rolling on to Texas. I think it is 
appropriate that this Saturday the tour will be in Texas, the adopted 
home State of President Bush. In 2000, then Governor Bush said he would 
sign an assault weapons ban.
  During the President's first 100 days, here in Congress everybody 
does everything they can to make sure that they are pushing through his 
agenda. Well, here we are coming down to the last 100 days before the 
assault weapons ban expires, and I think it would be very nice if the 
President kept his word and actually put it into his agenda for the 
last 100 days before it expires.
  Ten years ago, we fought very hard here in these halls to make sure 
the assault weapons ban was passed. Ten years ago, I sat up there as a 
citizen and was down here lobbying to make sure the assault weapons ban 
was passed. I find it so hard to believe that now I am standing here as 
a Congressperson again fighting to make sure assault weapons are not 
put back on to our streets.
  These are the guns we see every single night that our men and women 
in the service in Iraq are using to fight for the democracy of the 
Iraqi people, but, unfortunately, we may be opening up the floodgates 
to allow criminals, drug lords, and gangs to be able to walk into any 
gun store and to be able to buy assault weapons and the large capacity 
clips. People keep forgetting about the large capacity clips, that they 
will be allowed back on the streets.
  I am asking for the involvement of the American people. I hear 
constantly that they feel they are not part of the government. They 
have an opportunity to be part of the government, but we have to hear 
their voices. Are you out there? Do you actually want assault weapons 
back on the streets in 100 days? Your Members of Congress, your Members 
of the Senate, the White House needs to hear your voices. Today you can 
e-mail. Today you can make a phone call. Let your Member know how you 
feel about this. You have an opportunity to do something.
  When we talk about terrorists possibly being in this Nation, and we 
are spending so much money on homeland security, which we should be 
doing, when we talk about the safety on trains, the safety on planes, 
we should not make it easier for the terrorists to be able to get these 
guns, whether it is at a gun show or a gun store. They can get false 
I.D. We know that. Why would we give them this opportunity to make it 
easier for them?
  Again, it comes down to this. Why did we pass an assault weapons ban 
10 years ago? Because these guns were used rampantly to kill so many of 
our police officers. That is why we passed the bill. Why should we go 
back 10 years? We know it works. I happen to think we should make the 
bill stronger. I think it should be made permanent so we are not having 
this debate every 10 years.
  I happen to think that gun manufacturers have a responsibility to not 
make copycats of these assault weapons, which they have been doing. 
Think about the D.C. snipers. That was a knock-off of that type of gun. 
I ask the American people, Mr. Speaker, to have their voices heard. We 
can do this, but we need your help.

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