Steve Rothman: “I am a Democrat who believes in the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but a Democrat who believes that we need gun…”

“I am a Democrat who believes in the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but a Democrat who believes that we need gun control to keep guns out of the hands of our children. There are plenty of causes of the violence in Littleton and in Georgia: parental neglect, teacher neglect, those young people who fired those weapons and committed those crimes, violence, sadistic and cruel videos and movies, and video games. But the number one culprit is the guns that the kids use to kill the other kids. Some people say we cannot do two things at once in America, we cannot enjoy the right to bear arms and go hunting and use our guns lawfully and at the same time enact laws to keep guns out of the hands of 12- and 14-year-olds. They are wrong. They underestimate the intelligence and ability of Americans to do two important things at once, recognize our right to bear arms, but protect our children. The Republican leadership must stop its efforts to water down and delay reasonable, common-sense gun control that keeps guns out of the hands of our children. I urge my Republican colleagues to get their leadership to allow reasonable, common-sense gun control to be passed in this House.”