Seventh Enemy Read Online Free PDF

holds. But he emptied it in the library. He killed his wife and he killed Elaine and he killed Loretta and he killed our unborn child, and then he went outside and climbed into his pickup truck and drove down to the river and killed himself.”
    Bailey stopped, met the eyes of each of the subcommittee members in turn, “Senators,” he said, “I suppose that man might have murdered his wife with a knife or a clothesline or a conventional firearm. Perhaps no legislation could have prevented that. But this man owned an AK-47. He kept it behind the seat in his truck. It was available to him any time he wanted to use it. As a result Loretta Bailey, aged thirty-four, and Elaine Bailey, aged seven, and her unborn sibling are senselessly dead, and my life is worse than death. It shouldn’t have happened. I don’t want to hear that it’s the price we must pay for liberty. Nobody construes the Constitution to permit such things. I know the Second Amendment For Ever people and the NRA would have you believe that. But they are wrong. I know their votes and their-money have defeated legislation such as this one in the past. That’s why Loretta and Elaine died. Senators, please. The job of the government is to protect its citizens. To ensure domestic tranquility. And don’t pretend that the certainty of severe punishment would have deterred this man from bringing his AK-47 into that library. It’s very clear that if he did not have that weapon handy in his truck at the time when he got drunk and his fury at his wife took control of him, Loretta and Elaine Bailey and another Bailey child would be alive today. This legislation you are considering could save the life of a pregnant woman or an innocent child who only wants to check a Curious George story out of the library. If it saves one life, it’s good legislation. I urge you—I beseech you—to support it.”
    Wilson Bailey slumped back in his chair. The room was silent. Even the SAFE members in the audience were obviously moved by the man’s story. For a long moment, nobody spoke. Then the chairman cleared his throat and said, “Uh, thank you, sir, for your testimony.” He glanced at the other committee members. “Any questions?”
    They all shook their heads.
    “Well, if you have a copy of your statement, Mr. Bailey, please leave it with me.”
    “I have no statement. Mr. Chairman,” he said. “It’s my story, and I don’t need to write it down. But with your permission, I’d like to leave a photograph of Loretta and Elaine Bailey with you.”
    Bailey stood up, handed a photograph to the chairman, and left through the door that Wally had taken. I edged out into the aisle and followed behind him.
    The corridor outside the hearing room was a chaos of shouting voices, elbowing bodies, and flashing cameras. It took me a moment to realize that Wally stood at the center of it. I wedged my way among the bodies until I was close to him. He was speaking with several reporters.
    “…not a constitutional lawyer,” he was saying. “I don’t pretend to know what the Founding Fathers had in mind.”
    “But aren’t you afraid,” said a female reporter, “that by disagreeing with the NRA you will alienate your allies?”
    “I’m afraid of plenty of things, miss,” said Wally. “But that’s not one of them. The NRA holds the Second Amendment sacred. I guess right now I’d just refer you to the amendment that comes right before it, which is also a pretty good one. I have an opinion, and I staled it and thank God we live in a country where a man can do that.”
    “The Second Amendment For Ever organization invited you here, is that correct?” asked a different reporter.
    “SAFE arranged for me to testify, yes.”
    “Did they know what you were going to say?”
    “I say what I believe. Nobody tells me what to say.”
    “But did they understand that you would testify in favor of this bill?”
    Wally smiled at the reporter. “Don’t be silly,” he said.
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