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                    Senate Committee Hears Gun Control Views

   The debate on U.S. gun control has moved to the Senate Judiciary
   Committee, as lawmakers heard testimony on curbing gun violence during
   the first Congressional hearing on the issue since last month`s mass
   shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
   Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in a January
   2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, opened the testimony Wednesday.
   "Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important. Violence
   is a big problem. Too many children are dying, too many children. We
   must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act.
   Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you."
   On the other side of the debate, National Rifle Association CEO Wayne
   LaPierre told lawmakers "proposals that would only serve to burden the
   law-abiding have failed in the past and will fail in the future."
   He expressed support for better enforcement of existing laws, stronger
   school security and keeping guns from mentally unstable people.
   The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of
   U.S. citizens to own firearms. But under debate is how to regulate gun
   ownership.
   One of Congress` leading gun-control advocates, Senator Dianne
   Feinstein said Tuesday, "The time has come to change course, and the
   time has come to make people safe."
   A Judiciary Committee member, Feinstein has introduced legislation
   banning assault weapons and magazines of more than 10 rounds of
   ammunition.
   Senator Orrin Hatch said he is a strong supporter of the Second
   Amendment, but would listen to proposals and agreed that reviewing the
   issue is timely.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/senate-committee-hears-gun-control-views/1593851.html