Posted on 04/26/2007 12:26:20 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani
MAYOR'S MESSAGE
Mayor's WINS Address Sunday, March 2, 1997
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Good morning. It has been a week since the terrible tragedy that happened last Sunday at the Empire State Building. And even as we grieve for the families and our hearts and prayers go out to them, perhaps we can use this senseless tragedy to re-energize the fight for gun control.
A man came to this country from Gaza City on December 24th of last year. Ali Hassan Abu Kamal first arrived in New York and then traveled by plane to Melbourne, Florida, where he checked into a motel.
If this man had wanted to get a driver's license in the state of Florida, he would have had to have gone through some necessary and sensible requirements.
In Florida, you have to take a written test and a driving test to show you understand the rules of safety and the rules of the road. You have to take an eye exam, and your background is checked to see that you don't have a record of being a dangerous driver.
But he didn't want a driver's license, he wanted a gun. And he wanted a gun that could slaughter human beings quickly -- namely, a semi-automatic weapon. And it's much easier to get a license to buy a gun, even a semi-automatic weapon in Florida, than it is to get a driver's license.
All he needed was a registration card that he received by establishing residency at a cheap motel on the same day that he bought the gun. He then bought a .380 Beretta at gun store called The Oaks Trading Post.
This is the same gun store that sold the mass murderer William Cruse a semi-automatic weapon in 1987 that he used to kill six people, including two police officers in Florida.
If Mr. Abu Kamal would have tried to buy a gun in New York, he would not have been able to do so. Because in New York our gun control laws are much stricter and more responsible than in Florida.
To purchase a gun in the State of New York you have to give your full name, your date of birth, your residence, your occupation. You have to prove that you're a United States citizen, you have to show you are of good character, competency and integrity. And you have to demonstrate a real need for the weapon.
And thanks in part to our stricter gun control laws, crime is down dramatically in New York City. Shootings are down over 50 percent. Murder is down over 50 percent. But the fact is that 90 percent of the guns we take out of the hands of criminals in New York City come from out of the State of New York.
We need a federal law that bans all assault weapons, and if in fact you do need a handgun you should be subjected to at least the same restrictions -- and really stronger ones -- that exist for driving an automobile.
The United States Congress needs to pass uniform licensing for everyone carrying a gun. Congress must do more to prevent a tragedy like the one that happened at the Empire State Building from ever happening again.
From Gracie Mansion, this is Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
You know, I was in Lowe’s the other day with my wife, and we came across a box full of machetes, with 18-inch blades.
I could have taken that machete and cut down every person in our aisle before the cops were called.
Now how in the heck do you defend against what someone is thinking.
Gun or machete, they’d be just as dead.
Seems reasonable enough to me.
Except for the having to demonstrate you really need a weapon - I don't like that.
Sounds a little subjective.
The rest of it seems OK to me.
ugh. Rudy, retire please.....
I know a lot of people who were for gun control before 911 but after 911 they felt that every American should be armed to defend themselves.
I found it interesting that Rudy recently applauded the court’s decision to call DC’s gun law unconstitutional.
Is this article really 10 years old??
That's interesting - and it makes sense doesn't it.
I bought my wife a handgun after 9/11. She hated it - but wanted it all the same.
Who decides what 'good character' means? Or 'integrity'?
Hillary? Sarah Brady?
Someone didn’t get the “Don’t research Rudy’s past” memo.
Unless it is something positive ;)
You’re exactly right - who indeed?
Yeah - FYI - I got attacked pretty hard this morning for
a Rudy thread.
Threatened with “Zotting” and other nice things.
Rudy: Use Mass Murders To Fight For Gun Control......No, Rudy, Use Mass Murders To Fight poor shooting skills at the nearest range............
Really?
Then you would certainly approve of these changes, and similar restrictions on your other unalienable rights:
To purchase a gun computer in the State of New York you have to give your full name, your date of birth, your residence, your occupation. You have to prove that you're a United States citizen, you have to show you are of good character, competency and integrity. And you have to demonstrate a real need for the weapon means to exercise free speech.
Please, do not post any more garbage. Ping!
For speaking against Rudy or for Rudy?
No thanks - no need for those changes.
Why would you offer those?
For Rudy.
I got hammered.
It’s the gun’s fault! It’s the COPS fault because they couldn’t get through the door in under 5 minutes. It’s campus security’s fault! It’s the victim’s fault! It’s his mommy’s fault! It’s his girlfriend’s fault! It’s George Bush’s fault! It’s every fricking body’s fault except the loonie toon who pulled a gun out and started shooting at people. When the heck are we going to start pointing fingers at the people who are personally responsible for their actions???
/rant
This statement and his support of the war against the 2nd Amendment are the reasons that I will contribute to and vote for someone besides The Rudy.
.
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