mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , just in case people think that it is only those of us who believe in our legal system that are opposed to this particular measure , i have in hand a letter from law enforcement 's opposition to h.r. 800 , and here is what it says : `` dear representative : as active and retired law enforcement officers , we are writing to urge your strong opposition to any legislation granting the gun industry special legal immunity . 
the bill would strip away the legal rights of gun violence victims , including law enforcement officers and their families , to seek redress against irresponsible gun dealers and manufacturers . 
the impact of this bill on the law enforcement community is well illustrated by the lawsuit brought by former orange new jersey police officers ken mcguire and david lemongello. '' i gather that their lawsuit would be dismissed as frivolous . 
`` on january 12 , 2001 , officers mcguire and lemongello were shot in the line of duty with a trafficked gun negligently sold by a west virginia dealer . 
the dealer had sold the gun , along with 11 other guns , in a cash sale to a straw buyer for a gun trafficker . 
in june of 2004 , the officers obtained a $ 1 million settlement from the dealer . 
the dealer , as well as two other area pawn shops also , have implemented safer practices to prevent sales to traffickers , including a new policy of ending large volume sales of handguns . 
these reforms go beyond the requirement of current law and are not imposed by any manufacturers or distributors . 
`` if immunity , '' this is what the law enforcement community , some of them say , `` if immunity for the gun industry had been enacted , the officers ' case would have been thrown out of court and justice would have been denied . 
police officers like officers mcguire and lemongello put their lives on the line every day to protect the public . 
instead of honoring them for their service , legislation granting immunity to the gun industry would deprive them of their basic rights as american citizens to prove their case in a court of law . 
we stand with officers mcguire and lemongello in urging you to oppose this legislation. '' it is signed by the international brotherhood of police officers , the major cities chiefs association , the hispanic american police command officers association , the police foundation , the michigan association of chiefs of police , chiefs of police from new jersey , ohio , massachusetts , nevada , california , new york , north carolina , maine , oklahoma , texas , missouri , rhode island , and kansas and virginia and countless others that time will not permit me to add . 
if police officers who are out there protecting us can not find the protection in this house of representatives from bullets or armor-piercing bullets , and we are going to protect people who manufacture that stuff from having legal suits brought against them , some that may be dismissed , some that may be won , some that may be lost but it is an american right , just like that second amendment is an american right that i will go to my grave believing in , but i will go with these police officers in believing that it is wrong to deny people an opportunity to take their matter to court and have it decided appropriately by a court of law and juries of their peers who are all 435 of our constituents . 
in addition to what is wrong is this system is wrong . 
when you close out amendments that would allow people to have an opportunity to come down here on the floor of the house of representatives and represent their constituents , this is a closed rule ; and i urge my colleagues to vote against this closed rule . 
