Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act-Continued

PROTECTION OF LAWFUL COMMERCE IN ARMS ACT-CONTINUED

Mr. REED. Mr. President, despite the passage of three very important amendments for gun safety-one that closed the gun show loophole, another that extended the assault weapons ban, and a third to require child safety locks with all handguns sold in this country-the underlying bill still represents a fundamental undermining of a principle of law that has lasted for centuries, and that principle is that an individual is not just responsible to follow the statutes of this country, that individual is responsible to act reasonably. Even the most elaborate construct of statutes will never reach all the variations of human behavior. That is why this fundamental principle of responsible conduct must by maintained.

This bill turns it on its head. This bill, if enacted, will be a license to be irresponsible, and there is no more graphic example than Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Washington State, the source of the weapons for the snipers who terrorized Washington, DC. The individual could not account for 238 weapons, had numerous citations by ATF, and was unaware that a weapon was shoplifted and had fallen into the hands of assassins. That is irresponsible conduct. That conduct would be immunized by this legislation.

I urge all my colleagues to vote no, against this legislation. We have made progress on important gun safety measures, but the underlying legislation would say to gun manufacturers: You can be irresponsible through your distribution network to whom you sell; to dealers, you can be irresponsible to the customer to whom you sell. We don't want that. The peace, security, and safety of all of us cannot tolerate that, and I urge defeat of this measure.