"With your support and encouragement, the U.S. House of Representatives took a critical step toward getting assault weapons off the streets, out of neighborhoods, and out of the hands of criminals." In February 1997 a gunman opened fire from atop the Empire State Building hitting seven people, killing one of these persons. Giuliani blamed lax gun laws for the shooting: "It should be as difficult to get a gun in Florida as it is in New York City."[81]