"It's a known fact that there are no legitimate purposes for assault weapons. They are intended to maim and kill large numbers of people quickly."

-Springfield provisional Chief of Police Paula C. Meara (qouted by John O'Connell, Statehouse bureau chief in: Springfield Union News, April 2, 1998, page A8).

"Based upon weapons we have submitted here and crimes we investigate, it's rare to find one of the alleged assault weapons used in a crime, even a possession crime. For a homicide, it's extremely rare, less than a fraction of 1 percent."

-State police Sgt. John Busa, State Police Ballistics Laboratory, (Worcester Sunday Telegram, November 16, 1997, page A3)