MJ Hegar Quotes

I'd like to see a comprehensive gun control bill brought to the floor, but if we have to do it in several votes, that's fine, too. But give us the vote. Let us make our case to our colleagues on the floor and have a vote.

I haven't pursued it as a senator because I know it's like spitting in the wind. But I still believe it's the right thing. And if I were governor and a bill came to my desk that provided for background checks at gun shows, I would sign that.

It can be frustrating that, despite widespread support for common sense gun safety measures, Congress is moving at a snail's pace. But remember that great change takes time.

We can protect the Second Amendment, we can protect our constitutional rights, and we can still do something about this public health crisis that is gun violence in our communities.

We need sensible gun safety measures. The federal government could do something about this; they could show up.

If I were governor, and a bill came to my desk that provided for background checks at gun shows, I would sign that.

The court makes an amazing amount of decisions that ought to be made by the people.

Most Americans think there's already universal background checks. They don't understand why there wouldn't be a background check to purchase a weapon.

Surely there are common-sense reforms that we should, and must, take in order to keep our children and our communities safe. I take these recommendations very seriously, and will listen to the voices of my constituents to ensure I do everything I can to help prevent gun violence.

From Texas to New Hampshire and everywhere in between, we know that support for policies such as expanded background checks continue to be popular in both parties.

In the absence of a Congress ready to act to reduce gun violence, we will keep working to create a different Congress.

If you look at issues like immigration, gay marriage, gun regulation - these are all things that probably wouldn't be a source of much discussion at all in D.C., if they weren't sources of self-perpetuation.

If the framers of the Constitution had any way to predict what our society would look like today, they would think it ridiculous to see the proliferation of guns.

If you ever doubt that the people are the boss in a democracy, run for office. Even the President is a hired hand.

A powerful lobby [the National Rifle Association] dins into the ears of our citizenry that these gun purchases are constitutional rights protected by the 2nd Amendment.

The great advantage of representatives is their capacity of discussing public affairs. For this, the people collectively are extremely unfit, which is one of the chief inconveniences of a democracy.

Our concepts of ballot-box democracy may need to be modified to produce strong governments capable of making difficult decisions

I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober, second thought of the people shall be law.

Concealed-carry reciprocity, I believe, undermines American gun laws by forcing states to accept carry-permitting standards of every other state, including some states that have no standards at all.

Ultimately, the NRA has maybe five million members. We are a nation of 320 million-plus, and it's time we call out those who stand on the wrong side of history and spout the same old NRA talking points.

In a democracy, you can be right and still lose power.

In Colorado, we passed universal background checks and magazine limits. We need to do that nationally, and we need to raise the purchase age, extend waiting periods for gun purchases, fund gun violence research, pass red flag laws, and more - no matter how hard the gun lobby tries to block it.

Facts tell us that criminalizing private transfers of firearms among family members and friends under a universal background check system would do nothing to prevent 'gun violence,' and importantly, would not have prevented the profound tragedies that gun banners use to promote such a system.

If the U.N. gun-ban treaty is ever signed and ratified into law, we may never get a second chance to save the Second Amendment.

Universal background checks work. You keep the guns out of the hands of dangerous people. That shouldn't be partisan - that should be something we can all agree to, but it became this huge battle and, you know, really, really a challenge.