[font="Arial][quote]WASHINGTON -- Some members of Louisiana's congressional delegation are expressing skepticism of calls for a federal limit on the clip size of semiautomatic handguns as a way to deter attacks like the Jan. 8 shooting in Arizona that killed six and injured 19, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Police say Jared Lee Loughner, 22, fired 31 shots in quick succession with his Glock semiautomatic pistol during the deadly spree.
"The Tucson shooting was a horrible tragedy," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Wednesday. "I hope it helps us focus on identifying and intervening with people with major mental health issues, not knee-jerk calls to restrict Second Amendment rights."
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, agreed. "The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is very clear that our right to bear arms shall not be infringed, and this tragedy should not be exploited to promote a radical gun control agenda," Scalise said.
Freshman Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, however, said the issue is worthy of consideration.
Richmond, who pushed for some gun control legislation while a state legislator, said "there should at least be a discussion" about ways to avert more incidents like the Tucson shooting.
"Let me just say that I own a rifle and a gun and I fully support a person's Second Amendment right to have a gun," Richmond said. "But when a gun has the ability to shoot that many bullets at one time, it becomes a weapon of mass destruction, not a gun for self-protection or hunting."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who supported Congress' 2004 decision to let the 1994 assault weapon ban and its limitations on magazines expire, expressed a willingness to consider new legislation.
"No proposal should infringe on the rights of legal gun owners, sportsmen and collectors," Landrieu said. "Are 31-round clips necessary? I think it's a question worth considering."
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., whose husband was shot to death aboard a New York commuter train in 1993, has introduced legislation that would prohibit ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
Similar legislation is being offered by Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and John Kerry, D-Mass. Kerry said the bill would also require background checks for guns bought at gun shows.
"As a lifelong hunter, I know that no one is going to mess with the constitutional right to bear arms, but rights come with responsibilities, and criminals and the mentally unstable do not have a right to avoid background checks or carry military-style assault weapons," Kerry said.
Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, said such legislation is "dangerous," leading the nation "down a slippery slope of more government intrusion into our constitutional rights."
Rep. Rodney Alexander, D-Quitman, said he doesn't see how limiting large-capacity magazines would avert killings like the Arizona tragedy.
"I certainly don't know personally why anybody would need to fire so many rounds," Alexander said. "But I wouldn't vote for a law that would prevent a person from choosing a (large-capacity) magazine."
He said that anyone with basic mechanical abilities could make a large-capacity magazine, making a federal ban ineffective.
But Alexander said "it's time for the United States to stop the political correctness" and develop ways to stop people with mental illness from purchasing guns.
Both Loughner and the student who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University in 2007 had histories of mental illness.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence expressed disappointment that President Barack Obama didn't use his State of the Union Address Tuesday to even mention possible gun control legislation to respond to the Arizona shooting, which left six dead, including 9-year-old Christina Green and Federal Judge John Roll.
"We need the president to push for laws to reduce the gun violence that shattered Tucson, and Christina's family, and that shatters the lives of more than 100,000 Americans every year," Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke said.
Robert Gibbs, Obama's spokesman, said Wednesday that just because the president didn't mention the gun control issue during his speech doesn't mean "that at some point" he'll talk about gun violence.
Obama mostly ignored gun control over the first two years of his presidency, reflecting the White House's view that new legislation wouldn't make it through Congress, even when both houses were controlled by Democrats.
The National Rifle Association accused proponents of limiting the capacity of ammunition clips of exploiting a national tragedy with ineffective legislation that would burden legal gun owners. But backers of legislation got a boost this week when former Vice President Dick Cheney said it may be "appropriate" to bring back size limits on magazines.[/quote]
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Source - [url="http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-8/129611282483400.xml&coll=1"]The Times - Picayune[/url][/font]
Police say Jared Lee Loughner, 22, fired 31 shots in quick succession with his Glock semiautomatic pistol during the deadly spree.
"The Tucson shooting was a horrible tragedy," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Wednesday. "I hope it helps us focus on identifying and intervening with people with major mental health issues, not knee-jerk calls to restrict Second Amendment rights."
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, agreed. "The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is very clear that our right to bear arms shall not be infringed, and this tragedy should not be exploited to promote a radical gun control agenda," Scalise said.
Freshman Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, however, said the issue is worthy of consideration.
Richmond, who pushed for some gun control legislation while a state legislator, said "there should at least be a discussion" about ways to avert more incidents like the Tucson shooting.
"Let me just say that I own a rifle and a gun and I fully support a person's Second Amendment right to have a gun," Richmond said. "But when a gun has the ability to shoot that many bullets at one time, it becomes a weapon of mass destruction, not a gun for self-protection or hunting."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who supported Congress' 2004 decision to let the 1994 assault weapon ban and its limitations on magazines expire, expressed a willingness to consider new legislation.
"No proposal should infringe on the rights of legal gun owners, sportsmen and collectors," Landrieu said. "Are 31-round clips necessary? I think it's a question worth considering."
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., whose husband was shot to death aboard a New York commuter train in 1993, has introduced legislation that would prohibit ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
Similar legislation is being offered by Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and John Kerry, D-Mass. Kerry said the bill would also require background checks for guns bought at gun shows.
"As a lifelong hunter, I know that no one is going to mess with the constitutional right to bear arms, but rights come with responsibilities, and criminals and the mentally unstable do not have a right to avoid background checks or carry military-style assault weapons," Kerry said.
Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, said such legislation is "dangerous," leading the nation "down a slippery slope of more government intrusion into our constitutional rights."
Rep. Rodney Alexander, D-Quitman, said he doesn't see how limiting large-capacity magazines would avert killings like the Arizona tragedy.
"I certainly don't know personally why anybody would need to fire so many rounds," Alexander said. "But I wouldn't vote for a law that would prevent a person from choosing a (large-capacity) magazine."
He said that anyone with basic mechanical abilities could make a large-capacity magazine, making a federal ban ineffective.
But Alexander said "it's time for the United States to stop the political correctness" and develop ways to stop people with mental illness from purchasing guns.
Both Loughner and the student who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University in 2007 had histories of mental illness.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence expressed disappointment that President Barack Obama didn't use his State of the Union Address Tuesday to even mention possible gun control legislation to respond to the Arizona shooting, which left six dead, including 9-year-old Christina Green and Federal Judge John Roll.
"We need the president to push for laws to reduce the gun violence that shattered Tucson, and Christina's family, and that shatters the lives of more than 100,000 Americans every year," Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke said.
Robert Gibbs, Obama's spokesman, said Wednesday that just because the president didn't mention the gun control issue during his speech doesn't mean "that at some point" he'll talk about gun violence.
Obama mostly ignored gun control over the first two years of his presidency, reflecting the White House's view that new legislation wouldn't make it through Congress, even when both houses were controlled by Democrats.
The National Rifle Association accused proponents of limiting the capacity of ammunition clips of exploiting a national tragedy with ineffective legislation that would burden legal gun owners. But backers of legislation got a boost this week when former Vice President Dick Cheney said it may be "appropriate" to bring back size limits on magazines.[/quote]
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Source - [url="http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-8/129611282483400.xml&coll=1"]The Times - Picayune[/url][/font]
