During Monday’s House Oversight Committee hearing regarding the U.S. Secret Service, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) urged his congressional colleagues to “find the courage” to ban AR-15 rifles.
He pushed universal background checks and repeated the Democrats’ decades long push to close the so-called gunshow loophole, even though the AR-15 used in the failed Trump assassination was “legally purchased.” (When law enforcement speaks of a gun being purchased “legally” it means a purchaser passed a background check to acquire the firearm at retail.
Nevertheless, Raskin wants more background checks in the wake of the failed assassination attempt.
Raskin also pushed for more gun control on private gun sales, then said, “What happened in Butler shows, even closing these loopholes, however, will not keep ‘assault weapons’ out of the hands of potential assassins and mass murderers.”
He continued, “Under federal law, and in the vast majority of states, even young people, not old enough to buy a beer legally, can legally purchase and own an AR-15 and carry it in public.”
Raskin pointed out that “the shooter in Butler used his father’s AR-15.” He did not mention that the shooter borrowed his father’s AR-15 under the guise of taking to the range for target practice.
He then called for his congressional colleagues to “find the courage and resolve to pass a ban on the AR-15 and other ‘assault weapons.’” He then pointed to a poll from 2019–five years ago–to claim the public supports banning AR-15s.
AR-15 rifles are wildly popular among Americans. Data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation indicates there are over 28 million AR and AK-style rifles in circulation.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.