WASHINGTON--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), speaking on the Senate floor on Monday on the Sandy Hook school slaughter, said Second Amendment gun rights are not "absolute." In the wake of the latest gun massacre, Durbin announced that he will be holding hearings on the Second Amendment next year.

Durbin Senate speech excerpt: "What will it take for a majority of Americans to speak out for sensible firearms policy in our nation? It will take more than the shootings on streets in Chicago, East St. Louis and cities across the country. And sadly, it will take more than 26 victims, including 20 children, in a Connecticut grade school. The Supreme Court acknowledged that our Second Amendment rights are not absolute. So can we come together and agree that Americans have a right to own and use firearms for sport and self-defense within certain limits?

"Last year it is estimated that 6,000 Americans died because they foolishly were texting while driving. We now have a national campaign to stop texting and driving. To put it in perspective, last year, we also lost 30,000 Americans to guns. It's time for us to view the safety and ownership of guns as seriously as we do the safety and operation of automobiles."