Lawmakers need to move their focus away from the rhetoric of what weapons are used in mass shootings like those in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend and concentrate their efforts on working on a law that can be passed by both parties, Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, said Wednesday while discussing a bill he is sponsoring.
"Number one, what is a military-style weapon?" Rep. Babin told CNN's "New Day." "We're talking semiautomatic weapons. I think we need to get away from the rhetoric of what weapon or what instrument was used to make these terrible and atrocious murders and get to something that we can actually pass."
The chances for legislation that will allow Democrats everything they want are "very, very small," said Babin, noting his proposal, the Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety Act of 2019 has 114 co-sponsors divided evenly on both sides of the aisle and has a bipartisan counterpart in the Senate.
"It takes a process developed by the Secret Service over three decades ago," said Babin, and works by identifying and assessing threats, and if the threat is serious, then the federal government, FBI, and other agencies handle it.
"Red flag laws have the potential to do well, but they also have a potential for abuse," Babin said. "Right now, I think the American people deserve the same protection that the president, celebrities, congress, and diplomats, the people being protected by these – this process, the behavioral threat assessment that's been used for 30 years."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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