http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/10/26/132728.shtml
Lawmaker Faces Renewed Fight for Gun Law
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, Oct. 27, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Nearly a decade after her husband was killed and her son wounded in a shooting rampage on the Long Island Rail Road, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is headed back into battle over the same legislation that propelled her to Congress.
McCarthy, 59, became a public symbol and advocate for gun control in 1993 after the shooting that became known as "The Long Island Rail Road Massacre." She defeated Republican incumbent Daniel Frisa, who had voted in 1995 to repeal the assault weapons ban.
As Congress approaches the 10-year expiration of the ban, McCarthy is gearing for the political fight to extend and enhance the ban.
She begins each working day by lighting a candle in her office, a ritual that began when she first came to Washington. At first, the candle's light symbolized all shooting victims and the fragility of life, she said. Now it represents all victims of violence, including those killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
McCarthy, a former nurse, is serving her fourth term, representing a Long Island district that covers parts of Nassau County.
She fought fervently for gun control after her husband, Dennis, was killed aboard the commuter train on Dec. 7, 1993. The gunman, Colin Ferguson, boarded a crowded rush-hour commuter train and opened fire, killing six and wounding 19, including the McCarthy's son, Kevin. He was shot in the head.
McCarthy insists she always has tried to focus on bread-and-butter issues such as health care and education. She says both are intertwined with the problem of gun violence.
She uses her very personal example to illustrate her concerns about health costs and gun violence.
"People ask me all the time, "How's Kevin doing?"' she said. "He's doing great, but he's still partially paralyzed, he still has problems with his head, and on bad days he's not Kevin. But I'm still blessed to have him."
Draining Billions
Medical treatment for gun injuries, she argues, are draining billions of dollars from the health care system.
Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, calls McCarthy "our moral compass, our leader ... a guiding light."
He says that having someone who can talks to lawmakers "from a very personal experience, that can make all the difference."
She warns that she is ready to ruffle feathers as the gun control battle heats up again.
"I'm already getting colleagues saying, 'You're not going to bring this up again, are you?"' McCarthy said. "I say, "Yeah, I am."'
The current law, which expires next September, bans 19 models, and weapons which have two or more features common to assault weapons, such as a folding stock and a bayonet mount.
The National Rifle Association has harsh words for the ban and McCarthy's effort to strengthen it. The group says there is no practical difference between guns banned by the law, and many others sold legally in the United States.
"It's bogus legislation, it's a sham, it's built completely on lies," said the organization's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre. "It's a political dead end and that's why you have Democrats all over this country cringing every time Carolyn McCarthy speaks."
She is not backing down.
At a recent news conference calling for a permanent extension of the assault weapons ban -- and extra measures designed to eliminate what she and others call loopholes in the law -- McCarthy stood with Sonia Wills, whose son was killed last year in the Washington-area sniper shootings.
The women argue the gun allegedly used in those shootings was available only because of a flaw in the current assault weapons ban, and the new proposal would prevent gunmakers from manufacturing guns with only cosmetic changes to skirt the law.
"I don't like standing up here and having new victims standing next to me," said McCarthy, as Wills wiped away tears. "I am trying to do something."
Lawmaker Faces Renewed Fight for Gun Law
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, Oct. 27, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Nearly a decade after her husband was killed and her son wounded in a shooting rampage on the Long Island Rail Road, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is headed back into battle over the same legislation that propelled her to Congress.
McCarthy, 59, became a public symbol and advocate for gun control in 1993 after the shooting that became known as "The Long Island Rail Road Massacre." She defeated Republican incumbent Daniel Frisa, who had voted in 1995 to repeal the assault weapons ban.
As Congress approaches the 10-year expiration of the ban, McCarthy is gearing for the political fight to extend and enhance the ban.
She begins each working day by lighting a candle in her office, a ritual that began when she first came to Washington. At first, the candle's light symbolized all shooting victims and the fragility of life, she said. Now it represents all victims of violence, including those killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
McCarthy, a former nurse, is serving her fourth term, representing a Long Island district that covers parts of Nassau County.
She fought fervently for gun control after her husband, Dennis, was killed aboard the commuter train on Dec. 7, 1993. The gunman, Colin Ferguson, boarded a crowded rush-hour commuter train and opened fire, killing six and wounding 19, including the McCarthy's son, Kevin. He was shot in the head.
McCarthy insists she always has tried to focus on bread-and-butter issues such as health care and education. She says both are intertwined with the problem of gun violence.
She uses her very personal example to illustrate her concerns about health costs and gun violence.
"People ask me all the time, "How's Kevin doing?"' she said. "He's doing great, but he's still partially paralyzed, he still has problems with his head, and on bad days he's not Kevin. But I'm still blessed to have him."
Draining Billions
Medical treatment for gun injuries, she argues, are draining billions of dollars from the health care system.
Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, calls McCarthy "our moral compass, our leader ... a guiding light."
He says that having someone who can talks to lawmakers "from a very personal experience, that can make all the difference."
She warns that she is ready to ruffle feathers as the gun control battle heats up again.
"I'm already getting colleagues saying, 'You're not going to bring this up again, are you?"' McCarthy said. "I say, "Yeah, I am."'
The current law, which expires next September, bans 19 models, and weapons which have two or more features common to assault weapons, such as a folding stock and a bayonet mount.
The National Rifle Association has harsh words for the ban and McCarthy's effort to strengthen it. The group says there is no practical difference between guns banned by the law, and many others sold legally in the United States.
"It's bogus legislation, it's a sham, it's built completely on lies," said the organization's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre. "It's a political dead end and that's why you have Democrats all over this country cringing every time Carolyn McCarthy speaks."
She is not backing down.
At a recent news conference calling for a permanent extension of the assault weapons ban -- and extra measures designed to eliminate what she and others call loopholes in the law -- McCarthy stood with Sonia Wills, whose son was killed last year in the Washington-area sniper shootings.
The women argue the gun allegedly used in those shootings was available only because of a flaw in the current assault weapons ban, and the new proposal would prevent gunmakers from manufacturing guns with only cosmetic changes to skirt the law.
"I don't like standing up here and having new victims standing next to me," said McCarthy, as Wills wiped away tears. "I am trying to do something."