First, I do thank the committee for its work, and I know there a a diversity of opinions and views on an issue as important as firearms.
We introduced a national handgun freeze because of the alarming trends around the increase of handgun violence, and specifically because handguns are now the number one type of gun used in homicides. In my opinion, Mr. Shipley—and I don't know whether you agree with it—that is not arbitrary. There is a connection between the explosion of the handgun universe, which was increasing by approximately 45,000-55,000 new registrations a year for the last decade, and the fact that handguns are now the number one type of gun used in homicides. Our national handgun freeze is an effort to reverse that trend.