"There is no reason for anyone in this country, anyone except a police officer or a military person, to buy, to own, to have, to use a handgun. I used to think handguns could be controlled by laws about registration, by laws requiring waiting periods for purchasers, by laws making sellers check out the past of buyers. I now think the only way to control handgun use in this country is to prohibit the guns. And the only way to do that is to change the Constitution."
by:
Michael Gartner
former president of NBC News
Source:
Glut of Guns: What Can We Do About Them?, USA Today, Jan. 16, 1992, at 9A
The quote is often attributed to Bill Clinton while signing the Brady Bill in 1993.
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Reader comments about this quote:
Only a police officer or military person should have a gun. Sounds like a police state or dictatorship to me!
 -- cal, lewisville, tx     
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    I agree with Cal.
     -- Adriana, San Diego, CA     
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    I don't think this quote belongs anywhere in a list of "liberty" quotes. It is more in line with thinking in 1932 Berlin than America at any time.
     -- Wendell, Layton, UT     
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    I agree with you all (Cal, Adriana, and Wendell).
     -- Katherine, Dallas     
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    Screw this guy with everyone that knows how...
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    Why do police officers or military personnel need handguns? To protect themselves from the evil they are charged with seeking out. But evil by its very nature avoids those who can protect themselves, preferring instead to prey on the weak. Mr. Gartner would know this, were he not a fool.
     -- Justin, Elkland, Missouri     
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    When Mr Gartner gets mugged and robbed a few times, he'll get a gun real fast.
     -- jim k, austin     
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     -- jim k, austin      
    Sadly, this appears to be true. And yet another demonstration of the inability of many to read... the quote states "handguns" not "guns".
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US     
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    The Second Article of the Bill of Rights was drafted and enacted because the Framers knew that government could not be trusted. The Article is an individual protection. The Right to bear arms is not a granted Right by any form of government, it is an inalienable Right that cannot be taken away without some form of slavery or subjugation resulting!
     -- patriot1776, novi, michigan     
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    Furthermore, since the media is totally controlled by the elitists, it is no shock that an executive of nbc would utter such One World Government, New World Order remarks!
     -- patriot1776, novi, michigan     
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    Just make's me want to go buy more bullet's.
     -- James H, Independence,Missouri     
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    Living reasonable lives can be a bore. Most of us do not do what is reasonable but we surrond our lives with what is fun, interesting, ego fulfilling etc. I have six handguns, seldom if ever use them. Five are now in a trailer in Texas and one here in my home. I agree that most handguns are not needed and are seldom used. I have no problem with registration but taking them away from folk who are not criminals is a problem for me.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    ahh yes, another supporting spokesman for fair and balanced news. ;-)
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    anonymous...what difference does it make? Rifles are little cumbersome to carry around to the office and whatnot...and cops are too heavy to carry. Handguns are for self defense and that's why everyone should have one. I've just had 4 Texans out for a tour of the Rockies.; They said I'm an honorary Texan! ;)
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    I'm sure the gun confiscators would prefer to have me walking around the mall with an MP-5 slung under my arm. By the way, why does a police officer need a hand gun?
     -- Ken, Allyn, WA     
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    WTF !!!! Where is Waffler? I would like to hear what that traitor has to say about this. LOL!!!
     -- Stealth Muslim ( Obama), Washington , D.C.     
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    This kind of 'reasoning' is what led to totalitarian government in Germany, Russia, China, and other communist nations. The premise is that the individual cannot be trusted but the politician can... enough said? (Hey, Stealth Muslim, Waffler already commented...)
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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     -- Logan, Memphis, TN      
    Yeah hand guns are about useless. As knowledgeable gun owners have told me if a criminally minded person is close enough to you for you to use a handgun he is already to close and you probably do not stand a chance. They are basically useless but do fulfill some pscho purpose in us is what I think. As far as owning them to take on government always remember that all men under the age of 45 are part of the militia and come under the command of the Commander In Chief. That is Obama.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    How does this fit into "liberty quotes". ridiculous.
     -- TJ, Vegas     
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    What an idiot! He needs to move to.....maybe North Korea.
     -- The Observer, Indiana     
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    I fear that the inability to write, as demonstrated by these comments, reveals an inability to think. Does Cal think that all of those countries around the world where guns are outlawed are police states or dictatorships?
     -- Anonymous, Houston     
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    A clear expression of reasonable views, unlike the bumper-sticker vitriol in the comments.
     -- Raroad, Houston     
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     -- Anonymous      
    What a retard.
     -- Police officer, Graham     
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    The point of the Second Amendment is so that the police, military, and government are NOT the ONLY groups or individuals with guns. This is a representative republic not a socialist dictatorship as our president envisions... Gatner proved he was perfectly happy "faking" the news and being creative with statistics until he was forced to step down over a scathing attack on GMC with "faked" explosions of vehicles... Yes, go ahead... follow the word of a malcontent and baldfaced liar.
     -- willtellsall.com, Arvada, CO     
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