The 115th Congress-Washington 2017

[Bruke]

"That's right, the doctors said the cause of death was blood loss from liberal propaganda. This is a disgusting rejection of the loss so many families have suffered. I object to the motion and I object to this cowardly cruelhearted and insane proposal to put machine guns on our streets instead of making them safer."

Anderson: "I do not believe Representative O'Leary wishes to take all guns or institute a tyrannical regime. We must protect the rights of responsible gun owners, the right to bear arms is an essential part of American history, and the right to self defense is as vital today as it was in 1776. However their are common sense reforms that could make a world of difference in reducing gun violence."

"Representative, I feel your bill is well intentioned but goes too far. Might we discuss a more targeted bill?"

Morton: "I'd also like to see a more targeted bill. Why must we always swing between extremes when discussing guns in this country, from an absolutist "come and take it" stance to an absolutist "destroy all guns now" stance? This current bill by O'Leary is about as extreme as the Minuteman bill was. Frankly we're losing sight of what's important here. What are the risk factors for someone who commits a mass shooting, and how can we add to existing legislation to address that, or at least better enforce existing legislation?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"To call this bill extreme is absurd Representative and it should be obvious if you read it that it is not destroying all guns now. This bill only targets military grade weapons that shouldn't be in civilian hands. We could and should go so much farther and could save thousands more lives if Republicans would start to care more about lives than NRA cash and Marlowe's fantasies but this is only a limited bill so that we can at least make a start and do something to stop the slaughter.

[Bruke]

"To call this bill extreme is absurd Representative and it should be obvious if you read it that it is not destroying all guns now. This bill only targets military grade weapons that shouldn't be in civilian hands. We could and should go so much farther and could save thousands more lives if Republicans would start to care more about lives than NRA cash and Marlowe's fantasies but this is only a limited bill so that we can at least make a start and do something to stop the slaughter.

Stances are not policies, Representative. It's not just about the legislation itself, it's about the mindset behind it. It is one thing to restrict access to a class of guns, and it is another thing to ban them entirely for civilian use. I'd say we'd make much more progress here -and by progress, I mean creating legislation that can actually make it to the president's desk- in figuring out how to improve the background check system for gun purchases. Or are you more interested in symbolic measures?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"To call this bill extreme is absurd Representative and it should be obvious if you read it that it is not destroying all guns now. This bill only targets military grade weapons that shouldn't be in civilian hands. We could and should go so much farther and could save thousands more lives if Republicans would start to care more about lives than NRA cash and Marlowe's fantasies but this is only a limited bill so that we can at least make a start and do something to stop the slaughter.

Stances are not policies, Representative. It's not just about the legislation itself, it's about the mindset behind it. It is one thing to restrict access to a class of guns, and it is another thing to ban them entirely for civilian use. I'd say we'd make much more progress here -and by progress, I mean creating legislation that can actually make it to the president's desk- in figuring out how to improve the background check system for gun purchases. Or are you more interested in symbolic measures?"

"I'm interested in measures that actually do something Representative and this nonsense "mindset" excuse is just an obvious way to avoid doing anything while you're standing here and saying civilians should be able to own military grade weapons even after mass shooting after mass shooting."

[Dentali]

Stances are not policies, Representative. It's not just about the legislation itself, it's about the mindset behind it. It is one thing to restrict access to a class of guns, and it is another thing to ban them entirely for civilian use. I'd say we'd make much more progress here -and by progress, I mean creating legislation that can actually make it to the president's desk- in figuring out how to improve the background check system for gun purchases. Or are you more interested in symbolic measures?"

"I'm interested in measures that actually do something Representative and this nonsense "mindset" excuse is just an obvious way to avoid doing anything while you're standing here and saying civilians should be able to own military grade weapons even after mass shooting after mass shooting."

"What percentage of shootings are perpetrated by 'military grade weapons' every year?"

[Bruke]

Stances are not policies, Representative. It's not just about the legislation itself, it's about the mindset behind it. It is one thing to restrict access to a class of guns, and it is another thing to ban them entirely for civilian use. I'd say we'd make much more progress here -and by progress, I mean creating legislation that can actually make it to the president's desk- in figuring out how to improve the background check system for gun purchases. Or are you more interested in symbolic measures?"

"I'm interested in measures that actually do something Representative and this nonsense "mindset" excuse is just an obvious way to avoid doing anything while you're standing here and saying civilians should be able to own military grade weapons even after mass shooting after mass shooting."

"Again, you're speaking generally. The problem is not that people have what you would call military-grade firearms, but that some who own those weapons have a screw loose and want to shoot up a school. Or a movie theater. Or a political rally. It's not the 99.9% of gun owners that are the problem here, it's that remaining portion, who often have troubled pasts, who we should be concerned about. The question we should be asking is, what warning signs did the authorities miss to allow a whack-job like Noble to get a gun? There always seems to something we overlook: fights at school, anger issues at home, something buried deep in a person's past that helps explain why someone would want to kill fellow human beings."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"I'm interested in measures that actually do something Representative and this nonsense "mindset" excuse is just an obvious way to avoid doing anything while you're standing here and saying civilians should be able to own military grade weapons even after mass shooting after mass shooting."

"What percentage of shootings are perpetrated by 'military grade weapons' every year?"

"The vast majority of mass shootings. The AR-15 is the mass shooter's favorite weapon but you see people like Noble decide to try out automatic weapons too for that Republican favorite hail of bullets experience. Until you get the members or your party to start seeing reason or having any compassion we won't get any farther than a limited common sense measure like this one to make into the law something so obvious that civilians shouldn't have access to military grade weapons."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"I'm interested in measures that actually do something Representative and this nonsense "mindset" excuse is just an obvious way to avoid doing anything while you're standing here and saying civilians should be able to own military grade weapons even after mass shooting after mass shooting."

"Again, you're speaking generally. The problem is not that people have what you would call military-grade firearms, but that some who own those weapons have a screw loose and want to shoot up a school. Or a movie theater. Or a political rally. It's not the 99.9% of gun owners that are the problem here, it's that remaining portion, who often have troubled pasts, who we should be concerned about. The question we should be asking is, what warning signs did the authorities miss to allow a whack-job like Noble to get a gun? There always seems to something we overlook: fights at school, anger issues at home, something buried deep in a person's past that helps explain why someone would want to kill fellow human beings."

Everyone could see Noble was someone who should never have been allowed to own a gun. There weren't any missed signs, they were obvious but we couldn't do anything because the military grade weapons she got were legal. That's why we're making this change

[Dentali]

"What percentage of shootings are perpetrated by 'military grade weapons' every year?"

"The vast majority of mass shootings. The AR-15 is the mass shooter's favorite weapon but you see people like Noble decide to try out automatic weapons too for that Republican favorite hail of bullets experience. Until you get the members or your party to start seeing reason or having any compassion we won't get any farther than a limited common sense measure like this one to make into the law something so obvious that civilians shouldn't have access to military grade weapons."

"What percentage?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"The vast majority of mass shootings. The AR-15 is the mass shooter's favorite weapon but you see people like Noble decide to try out automatic weapons too for that Republican favorite hail of bullets experience. Until you get the members or your party to start seeing reason or having any compassion we won't get any farther than a limited common sense measure like this one to make into the law something so obvious that civilians shouldn't have access to military grade weapons."

"What percentage?"

"100% in this last shooting."

[Dentali]

"What percentage?"

"100% in this last shooting."

"Thats an anecdote not a useful statistic, Representative work with us here."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"100% in this last shooting."

"Thats an anecdote not a useful statistic, Representative work with us here."

"Are mass shootings just "anecdotes" for you Representative? This law would have stopped that mass shooting if it was in place. It would have saved lines. That's not an anecdote that's a fact"

[Bruke]

"Again, you're speaking generally. The problem is not that people have what you would call military-grade firearms, but that some who own those weapons have a screw loose and want to shoot up a school. Or a movie theater. Or a political rally. It's not the 99.9% of gun owners that are the problem here, it's that remaining portion, who often have troubled pasts, who we should be concerned about. The question we should be asking is, what warning signs did the authorities miss to allow a whack-job like Noble to get a gun? There always seems to something we overlook: fights at school, anger issues at home, something buried deep in a person's past that helps explain why someone would want to kill fellow human beings."

Everyone could see Noble was someone who should never have been allowed to own a gun. There weren't any missed signs, they were obvious but we couldn't do anything because the military grade weapons she got were legal. That's why we're making this change

"You say the warning signs were obvious, and yet here we are. There's a pattern with Noble and every other mass shooter: the warning signs are obvious- after the fact. We must focus on making sure that everyone who is able to see what's wrong with a potential shooter can share what they know with law enforcement."

[Dentali]

"Thats an anecdote not a useful statistic, Representative work with us here."

"Are mass shootings just "anecdotes" for you Representative? This law would have stopped that mass shooting if it was in place. It would have saved lines. That's not an anecdote that's a fact"

"You could use that argument to justify banning anything. It just needs to kill multiple people in a singular incident?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

Everyone could see Noble was someone who should never have been allowed to own a gun. There weren't any missed signs, they were obvious but we couldn't do anything because the military grade weapons she got were legal. That's why we're making this change

"You say the warning signs were obvious, and yet here we are. There's a pattern with Noble and every other mass shooter: the warning signs are obvious- after the fact. We must focus on making sure that everyone who is able to see what's wrong with a potential shooter can share what they know with law enforcement."

"The warning signs were obvious before the fact" Jared snapped. "And nothing could be dome because our gun laws are trash! Seeing warning signs doesn't do anything if you can't act on them!"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"Are mass shootings just "anecdotes" for you Representative? This law would have stopped that mass shooting if it was in place. It would have saved lines. That's not an anecdote that's a fact"

"You could use that argument to justify banning anything. It just needs to kill multiple people in a singular incident?"

"I can't even count the number of mass shootings by a military style weapon Representative. Colorado, Sandy Hook the list is endless. Pretending this has only happened once is willfully ignorant"

[Bruke]

"You say the warning signs were obvious, and yet here we are. There's a pattern with Noble and every other mass shooter: the warning signs are obvious- after the fact. We must focus on making sure that everyone who is able to see what's wrong with a potential shooter can share what they know with law enforcement."

"The warning signs were obvious before the fact" Jared snapped. "And nothing could be dome because our gun laws are trash! Seeing warning signs doesn't do anything if you can't act on them!"

Morton struggled to hold back his anger. Rageaholics Anonymous wasn't workings as well as he'd hoped...

"Haven't you heard of "red flag" laws, Representative? Those kinds of laws would do a lot more than your proposed assault weapons ban ever could."

[Velahor]

Smith: “While I agree with the object and purpose of the bill, I would like some quick clarification. Will the ban on ammunition over .40 caliber will be applicable to shotgun shells over that size, ball ammunition from muzzleloader weapons, and bullets and cannonballs held as artifacts by museums?”

[Dentali]

"You could use that argument to justify banning anything. It just needs to kill multiple people in a singular incident?"

"I can't even count the number of mass shootings by a military style weapon Representative. Colorado, Sandy Hook the list is endless. Pretending this has only happened once is willfully ignorant"

Reading from a file he had, Anderson replied "The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports prove that the overwhelming majority of gun-related homicides are perpetrated with handguns, with rifles of any kind accounting for less than 3 percent of gun-related homicides. In 2013, 5,782 murders were committed by killers who used a handgun, compared to 285 committed by killers who used a rifle. Thats a consistent trend."

"According to the FBI, more people are stabbed to death every year than murdered with a rifle, and a person is statistically more likely to be beaten to death with a blunt object or with hands and feet rather than be murdered with a rifle."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"The warning signs were obvious before the fact" Jared snapped. "And nothing could be dome because our gun laws are trash! Seeing warning signs doesn't do anything if you can't act on them!"

Morton struggled to hold back his anger. Rageaholics Anonymous wasn't workings as well as he'd hoped...

"Haven't you heard of "red flag" laws, Representative? Those kinds of laws would do a lot more than your proposed assault weapons ban ever could."

"That's already in the bill Representative. How about you bother to actually read it before going off again?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"I can't even count the number of mass shootings by a military style weapon Representative. Colorado, Sandy Hook the list is endless. Pretending this has only happened once is willfully ignorant"

Reading from a file he had, Anderson replied "The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports prove that the overwhelming majority of gun-related homicides are perpetrated with handguns, with rifles of any kind accounting for less than 3 percent of gun-related homicides. In 2013, 5,782 murders were committed by killers who used a handgun, compared to 285 committed by killers who used a rifle. Thats a consistent trend."

"According to the FBI, more people are stabbed to death every year than murdered with a rifle, and a person is statistically more likely to be beaten to death with a blunt object or with hands and feet rather than be murdered with a rifle."

"Are you going to endorse handgun restrictions now Representatives or are you just acting in bad faith? I already told you that this is only a limited action because of how the NRA plays your party like puppets. A common sense first step until some sense or some concern from human life makes it into the blood money lobby."

[Dentali]

Reading from a file he had, Anderson replied "The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports prove that the overwhelming majority of gun-related homicides are perpetrated with handguns, with rifles of any kind accounting for less than 3 percent of gun-related homicides. In 2013, 5,782 murders were committed by killers who used a handgun, compared to 285 committed by killers who used a rifle. Thats a consistent trend."

"According to the FBI, more people are stabbed to death every year than murdered with a rifle, and a person is statistically more likely to be beaten to death with a blunt object or with hands and feet rather than be murdered with a rifle."

"Are you going to endorse handgun restrictions now Representatives or are you just acting in bad faith? I already told you that this is only a limited action because of how the NRA plays your party like puppets. A common sense first step until some sense or some concern from human life makes it into the blood money lobby."

"I already said I supported targeted measures, I said I'd be willing to discuss and develop the bill. But instead of answering my questions you are just taunting people trying to work with you."

[Bruke]

Morton struggled to hold back his anger. Rageaholics Anonymous wasn't workings as well as he'd hoped...

"Haven't you heard of "red flag" laws, Representative? Those kinds of laws would do a lot more than your proposed assault weapons ban ever could."

"That's already in the bill Representative. How about you bother to actually read it before going off again?"

Morton smiled mockingly. "Now we're getting somewhere! Now why don't you remove this nonsense about a ban on military grade weapons, and focus on finding common ground, hmm?" He looked Jared right in the eyes. "Or... are you pushing so hard for such a ban that you, in the back of your mind, know it won't make it through Congress, just so you can grandstand?"

[Tallahassee News Station]

"Are you going to endorse handgun restrictions now Representatives or are you just acting in bad faith? I already told you that this is only a limited action because of how the NRA plays your party like puppets. A common sense first step until some sense or some concern from human life makes it into the blood money lobby."

"I already said I supported targeted measures, I said I'd be willing to discuss and develop the bill. But instead of answering my questions you are just taunting people trying to work with you."

"Who here is trying to work with me? I come here with a common sense bill to keep military grade weapons out of the hands of civilians after proof of the deadly cost in blood of that and all I've been is attacked. I'll be happy to work with you on that bill Representative once this passes. Targeted to military grade weapons. Let's get it to vote."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"That's already in the bill Representative. How about you bother to actually read it before going off again?"

Morton smiled mockingly. "Now we're getting somewhere! Now why don't you remove this nonsense about a ban on military grade weapons, and focus on finding common ground, hmm?" He looked Jared right in the eyes. "Or... are you pushing so hard for such a ban that you, in the back of your mind, know it won't make it through Congress, just so you can grandstand?"

"We're not getting somewhere Representative. We've been here and you're just lagging behind and making a fool of yourself showing your ignorance. I think that even your party isn't so heartless or brainless to vote to keep putting military grade weapons in the hands of civilians after an NRA member went on a killing spree. Any sane person can find common ground there.'