Sparked by the assasslnatlon attempt agalnst Presldent Reagan, an lmpendlng drlve in Congress for tougher handglm control leglslatlou already has conslderable momentum, judglng hy utterances from lawmakers, Slnce the March 30 attack on t.he Presldent and others, many have spoken out for new leglslatlon. On the other hand, lawmakers wlth acontrary vlew have let it be known that opposltlon remalas strong. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. and Rep. Peter Rodlno, D-NJ. have lntroduced bllls in the Senate and House, respectively, for banning “Saturday nlght speclals,” cheaply-made short-range guns. Co-qzonsored by a hlpsrtlaan FWD. the btll also would lmpose a 21-day walttng perlod on handgun sales, require recorth of gun transfers, and provlde a mandatory mlnhmml sentence of two years for any person who uses or carrlea a handgtm during commlsslon of a crlme. These quotes, taken from the Congresslonal Record or prlvate statements, lndlcate the moods of some of those who have spoken out: Senator Kennedy: “lnactlon ls Inexcusahle. it ls tlrue for Congress to stand up tothagunlohbyandfaceuptoltr responslblllty to deal wlth the epldernlc of lundgun vlolence that plagues the natlon.” Sea. SJ. Hayakaws, R-Calif.: “I belleve law-ahldlng cltlsens do have a rlght to own a handgun. The problem we tace ls keeping the cheaper handguns from those who seem predlsposed to rohbtng and lrllllng others.” , Hayakawa offered several suggestions, some of whlch are covered by the Kennedy and Rodlno leglslatlon, then added: “Most of the handguns used to commlt rohherles, as well as the one ned to shoot President Reagan, are cheap gums known as Saturday nlght speclals… We trled to ellmhnatethese guns in llloowlth the Gun Control Act. But furelgn manufacturers quickly dlscovered a loophole and started shlpplng gun parts halo the country where they could then be assernhled and sold legally. Thls loophole needs to be tlghtened.” Rep. Robert M. McCIory, R-Ill.: “After exterulve studles hl 1975- and 1970, I proposed handgun leglslatlon dlrected not at the hunters or marksmen But at the criminal elements in our For many months I have been endeavorlng to neclu-e the coopentlon of the FBI and Department of Justice in behalf of meanlngtul federal handgun control leglslatlon for the sole and specIflc Intent of aldlng our law enforcement offlclala in mmbatlng crlrnes of vlolance.” Rep. Wendell Balley uf Mlssourl: “Calm and common sense must prevall. Gun controls do not lessen crlines of vloleuce nor would they reduce the vuluerahlllty of our President and other publlc otticlala to acts of a deranged mental.lty…” Rep. Jonathan B. Bingham, D-N.Y.: “My hope ls that shattering event (the assasshnatlon attempt sgalnst Prealdmt Reagan) wlll help hrlng thls country to reallze the lnsanlty of our present system -ornonsystem-ofallowlngpeopletobtsy guns, handguns that klll people, as If they were lolllpops.” Rep. John M. Ashbrook, R-Ohlo deplored “demented and senaeless” assasslnatlon attempts, but added: “..,lt ls wlth a touch ofsadnessandangertllatlmustpolntolrt the very loglcal knee jerk response of many antl-gun enthualasts…who as in the pashselzeonthlsopporttunltylnarnahnoat maudlln way to advance thelr unpopular cause. They seem to have two themes: Attack the Unlted States as a bad, vlolent nation; and blame It on the law-abldlng cltlren who constltutionally, peacefully owns and uses a flrearm. We all have grlef and anger and fear But we should not use thls tragedy to attack these good Rep. Thomas J. Downey, D-N.Y.: “Guns do not klll people, and people do not klll people. People wlth guns wlll kill people. Slnce it ls not practical to break thls equatlon by ellmlnatlng the people, If we value our llves we will do it by eltmlnatlng the guns.” Rep. Davld E. Bonlor, D-Mlch.: “Once agaln, we straln our credlblllty abroad as a peace-lovlng people when the gun that shot the Presldent was one of 20,000 which roll olf s Mlaml assembly llne avery month – more than are in prlvate posse-salon In mmzt Westem cmmtrles,” Alludlng to congresslonal reluctance to strengthen controls on handgnms, Bonlor observed: “If our responslhlllty was felt to those who elect us, not to those who would defeat ns (the gun lobby). history might never have had reason to note March 30, 1991.” Rep. Gerald B.l-l. Solomon, R-N.Y.: ”l do thlnk that any rlght that appears in the Constltutlon (alludlng to the rlght to bar arms) ls questlonahle at all. l thlnlr perhaps ll thls Congress were to enact a federal law lrnplementlng or relmtatlng the death penalty for murderers and sssasslnatlon attempts on our Presldent, and go ahead and televlse some of those executlons, we would have less tragedies llke thls appearlng in the Unlted Stntes.”