[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ANNIVERSARY OF AWB

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2005

  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, one year ago today, Congress allowed the 
Federal ban on assault weapons to expire without a floor vote.
  The ban was allowed to die despite the support of two-thirds of the 
American people and the support of nearly every police organization in 
the country.
  And although he did nothing to help, President Bush even said he 
supported the ban.
  But Congress refused to listen to common sense and allowed weapons 
such as AK-47s and TEC-9s to be available throughout the United States.
  Since then, the NRA and its allies in Congress have pursued a radical 
agenda to weaken our gun laws.
  In July, the other body passed legislation giving the gun industry 
unprecedented protections from negligence lawsuits.
  This legislation will see that negligence goes unpunished. It will 
also give the industry no incentive to pursue safety innovations for 
their products.
  Had these protections been in place for the auto industry 40 years 
ago, cars wouldn't have seat belts, air bags, antilock brakes.
  The NRA says this law will prevent frivolous lawsuits against the gun 
industry, but it is a problem that doesn't exist.
  Over the past 10 years, over 10 million lawsuits have been filed in 
the U.S. Only 57 have involved the gun industry. And only 12 of those 
have been ruled frivolous by judges.
  The current system works, frivolous lawsuits against the gun industry 
are not coming to trial.
  Also, the NRA has begun a lobbying campaign to convince state 
legislatures to overturn workplace gun bans.
  Whether it is at a daycare center, school, church, or hazardous 
materials plant, the NRA wants employees to come to work armed. Again, 
it defies common sense.
  Guns are already the third greatest hazard in the workforce and 17 
Americans die on the job because of guns each week.
  Instead of dismissing irresponsible business practices and allowing 
guns in daycare centers, Congress should focus on legislation that 
keeps guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists.
  I have introduced legislation to improve the National Instant 
Background Check System or NICS. NICS is the database used to make sure 
potential gun buyers are legally permitted to own firearms.
  But the system is only as good as the information States provide. 
Twenty-five States have entered less than sixty percent of their felony 
convictions into the NICS database.
  In 13 States, domestic violence restraining orders are not entered 
into NICS.
  My bill would require States and Federal agencies to provide the FBI 
with all relevant records necessary to conduct effective background 
checks.
  The bill establishes a nationwide grant program to allow State law 
enforcement agencies to update and transmit records for inclusion in 
NICS.
  Another step towards reducing the threat of gun violence is to 
include individuals on Federal terrorist watch lists in the NICS 
system.
  Earlier this year, the United States Government Accounting Office 
issued a report revealing 44 instances of persons listed on Federal 
terrorist watch lists attempting to purchase firearms during a 4-month 
period in 2004.
  Thirty-five of these transactions resulted in the successful purchase 
of a firearm.
  Our current laws allow our enemies in the War on Terror to arm 
themselves within our borders.
  I have introduced legislation to place persons on the Transportation 
Security Administration's No Fly List into the NICS system.
  If we do not trust an individual to board a plane, common sense 
dictates that we should not allow them to buy guns.
  Both sides of the gun issue have a vested interest in reducing gun 
violence.
  In 2002 alone, guns killed 30,000 Americans. Studies show gun 
violence costs our health care system more than $100 billion per year.
  Mr. Speaker, we can work together to achieve common sense solutions 
to gun violence without infringing on anybody's 2nd Amendment Rights.