WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined other Democratic
women members of Congress to call on Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) to stop
stalling gun safety legislation and to heed the will of the majority of
the House of Representatives. On March 15, the House voted in support
of the juvenile justice conference committee, where gun safety legislation
is stalled, holding a substantive meeting within two weeks.
“What
is the Speaker waiting for? The Republican leadership is AWOL while
gun violence keeps killing children. What is it going to take for the Republican
leadership to wake up and smell the gunpowder in our schools and neighborhoods?
The American people are tired of delay tactics and are tired of the National
Rifle Association calling the shots on Capitol Hill,” Schakowsky said.
“While
we were waiting for the Speaker to follow the will of the House, a three-year
old girl shot herself to death with a pistol she found inside her family’s
home on Saturday. On Monday, shots were fired in a Chicago elementary
school. Thankfully, no one was killed,” Schakowsky added.
Schakowsky
also decried comments made yesterday by NRA president Charlton Heston.
He compared the scorn born by gun owners to the persecution of European
Jews during the Nazi era.
“How
dare Charlton Heston use the horrors of the Holocaust, the death of six
million Jews, and the plight of countless others to further his organization’s
agenda. The NRA and its rhetoric are out of control,” Schakowsky
said.
“The
NRA’s big guns came out blazing in the past few weeks and made it clear
that they will use whatever means necessary to kill any gun safety legislation.
The NRA leadership even blamed the President for the murder of my constituent,
former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong. These
sick and perverse actions only strengthen the desire of the American people
for sensible gun safety legislation,” Schakowsky added.
Schakowsky
said that it is inexcusable for Congress to delay passing sensible gun
safety legislation that would require the sale of child safety locks with
each handgun, close the gun show sales loophole, and ban the importation
of large capacity ammunition clips. The Senate passed these measures
as part of the Juvenile Justice Crime bill. The House version did
not include these provisions. A conference committee has been assembled
to work out the differences between the two bills. However, the committee
has yet to meet. |