WASHINGTON — On the afternoon of August 18, 1994, Eddie Bernice Johnson, a barrier-breaking freshman congresswoman from Dallas, stood on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and stumped for the most infamous legislation of that decade.

“Every day, most of the headlines have to do with crime,” she said, describing a desperate state of affairs in her home district. “School has been open less than two weeks now and already teachers have had guns in their faces. They found a gun arsenal underside of the building. It is overwhelming, but we must do something about it."

Johnson was slated to speak that morning about health care, but she held off for 10minutes to weigh in on President Bill Clinton's crime bill, which looked to be in jeopardy despite Democratic control of both chambers of Congress.

"I cannot understand why there is so much opposition and so much rhetoric and so much demagoguery surrounding the bill that will address these issues," she said.

Credit by - The Texas tribune

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