Sen. Heitkamp: 'Lack of Appreciation' for Second Amendment

The Second Amendment may not be getting enough respect, according to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat.

"I think sometimes people have a diminished sense of the Second Amendment," Heitkamp told an audience at a taping of the Women Rule podcast, sponsored by Politico, in Los Angeles.

"[I have] a real kind of visceral reaction to the lack of appreciation — or understanding — about how people feel about the Second Amendment, and how people feel about restrictions on the Second Amendment ...

"Restrictions on your reproductive rights — think about how strongly you feel about evaluating those restrictions. That’s how strongly people in North Dakota and Indiana and other places feel about restricting their Second Amendment."

Heitkamp, whose views on gun control differ radically from many of her Democratic colleagues, also pooh-poohed the push for a law mandating universal background checks for all gun purchasers.

"If you look at all these cases, an enhanced background check would not have changed, would [not have] prevented anyone from getting a gun," she said.

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