Chris Murphy, Connecticut’s Democratic US Senator, on Sunday expressed doubt over a proposed ban on assault weapons. Murphy’s comments suggested that he is unsure that it could pass the upper chamber.
Murphy has been one of the leading gun control advocates in the Senate. His remarks came amid the ban being pushed by President Biden in the wake of the latest mass shootings in the country.
After shooting tragedies in Virginia and Colorado in the last two weeks, questions were raised about the funding of law enforcement agencies in places that refuse to enforce red flag laws.
Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday: “If you passed an assault weapons ban you would see less mass shootings in this country. You are not going to magically eliminate mass-shootings, but an AR-15, or AR-15 style weapon, is generally the choice of mass shooters.”
Opponents of new gun laws say we should just enforce the laws we have.
But many counties have declared themselves “2nd Amendment Sanctuaries”, where gun laws aren’t enforced.
On @CNN this morning I talked about the need for Congress to take action on this crisis.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 27, 2022
In the aftermath of recent shootings, during the lame-duck session of Congress this year Biden said he was going to try to get rid of assault weapons.
Biden said: “The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick. I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.”
On being asked about the votes and whether or not the proposal could garner 60 votes, Murphy said: “Probably not. But let’s see if we can try to get that number as close to 60 as possible.”
He continued: “If we don’t have the votes, then we’ll talk to Senator Schumer and maybe come back next year with maybe an additional senator and see if we can do better.”
The Democratic-led House passed legislation in July to reinstate the 1990s-era ban on assault weapons.
After the passage of a landmark bipartisan bill on guns, strengthening background checks and red flag laws, which allow authorities to remove firearms from those posing a danger.
However, the legislation is dead in the Senate, where it would require 60 votes to pass.
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