Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 11:48:05 -0700 From: ffssnra@netcom.com (Peter Nesbitt) Subject: Mar-30-95 (HOUSE) CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SANE GUN LAWS Apparently-To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Mar-30-95 (HOUSE) CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SANE GUN LAWS Note: This document is the unofficial version of the Congressional Record. The printed Congressional Record produced by the Government Printing Office is the only official version. PART CONGRESSIONAL RECORD (HOUSE) DATE March 30, 1995 PAGE PAGE H4004 TITLE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SANE GUN LAWS TEXT (Mrs. SCHROEDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks and include extraneous material.) The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). Without objection, the gentlewoman from Colorado is recognized for 1 minute. There was no objection. PAGE H4004 Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, today is a very tragic day because it is the 14th anniversary of the shooting of President Reagan and his press secretary, Jim Brady. And tomorrow is going to mark the beginning of a campaign to protect sane gun laws by 82 national organizations representing 88 million Americans. Why are these organizations mobilizing? Tomorrow they will speak for themselves, but they are beginning their congressional campaign tomorrow to make sure, to make sure that Federal gun laws that make sense will not be repealed after the 100-day contract period is finished. Mr. Speaker, I will include for the Record at this point an article from Newsweek magazine calling on pulling the trigger on guns. PAGE H4004 This article, I think, is a very important one, and tells why these many, many organizations and Americans are very, very frightened, that some of the important gains we made after this tragedy that happened 14 years ago are apparently about to be assaulted and repealed in May of this year, right here in this very House. So, I hope that everybody thinks about it. When you look at the Brady bill we know that last year it stopped H 4005 70,000 felons and other prohibited buyers from getting guns. That is very, very critical. In my State of Colorado this week we saw all sorts of backsliding on gun legislation, with people trying to push easy access to concealed weapons. This is not what this country needs. PAGE H4004 So I salute this campaign to protect sane gun laws, and I certainly hope all of us work very hard to hold the gains we made in these last 14 years after the tragic event that happened 14 years ago today. Mr. Speaker, today - March 30 - marks the 14th anniversary of the shooting of President Reagan and his press secretary, Jim Brady. And tomorrow marks the beginning of a campaign to protect sane gun laws by 82 national organizations representing 88 million members. Why are these organizations mobilizing? Because tomorrow also marks the beginning of a congressional campaign to repeal Federal gun laws, beginning with hearings and culminating in floor consideration in May of a bill to repeal the assault weapon ban. Take heed, America. Sensible gun laws are at risk. That means that you are at risk. The gun lobby is working hard to weaken the Brady law`s waiting periods and background checks that screen out criminals, as well as the assault weapons ban and the enforcement of Federal firearm laws. Yet we know Brady works - last year it stopped about 70,000 felons and other prohibited buyers from getting handguns over the counter. PAGE H4004 In my State of Colorado, the House this week passed a bill to ease access to concealed weapons. It would require the State to issue concealed weapons permits to anyone who meets minimum qualifications. We hear the sheriff of El Paso County is handing out concealed weapons like candy. The bill led one Democratic House Member to predict that traffic altercations and arguments in bars would turn into homicides in a floodgate of lawlessness. We might as well return to the Wild West. This backsliding from sane guns laws is troubling. Putting more guns on the street will not make our communities safer. And it certainly won`t make our children safer. PAGE H4005 PULLING THE TRIGGER ON GUNS Even as States ease restrictions on concealed weapons, the gun lobby is eyeing a far-reaching rollback of federal gun-control laws. Although top priority is repeal of last year`s assault-weapons ban, another measure being eyed by a task force appointed by House Speaker Newt Gingrich would wipe out all other gun-related sections of last year`s crime bill - even the ban on juvenile handgun possession. `The sooner we get rid of that iniquitous bill, the better,` says a top National Rifle Association official. PAGE H4005 To smooth the way, House Republicans plan a series of hearings beginning this week at which crime victims will testify how firepower saved their lives. One woman shopkeeper, for example, is expected to tell how she blew away an assailant with an AR-15 assault weapon. `The idea is to show firearms are an important part of public safety and self-defense,` says a GOP staffer. Gun-control advocates predict the hearings will backfire. `They`re playing to a small band of extremists,` says New York Rep. Charles Schumer. PAGE H4005 OUTLINE 1. CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SANE GUN LAWS H4004 2. PULLING THE TRIGGER ON GUNS H4005