Politics & Government

Sen. Mark Warner: Newtown is 'Game Changer' on Guns

Virginia senator said his three daughters asked him Friday what he was going to do about school shootings tragedy.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner wants to tighten gun laws, saying "enough is enough" in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings Friday that saw 20 young children and six adults killed.

“I‘ve been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights,” the Democrat from Alexandria said Monday outside the Virginia Capitol, where he was attending an unrelated meeting, The Washington Post reported Monday.

“I’ve got an A rating from the NRA. But the status quo isn’t acceptable. I’ve got three daughters," the Post reported. "They asked me on Friday evening, ‘Dad, what are you gonna do about this?’ There’s got to be a way to put reasonable restrictions, particularly as we look at assault weapons, as we look at these fast clips of ammunition.”

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“I believe every American has Second Amendment rights, the ability to hunt is part of our culture," Warner said on Richmond's CBS affiliate, Channel 6. "I’ve had an NRA (National Rifle Association) rating of an 'A' but, you know, enough is enough." The NRA is headdquartered in Fairfax.

A Warner staffmember sent out a tweet Monday: SenWarner thinks #Newtown shooting "game changer" on guns

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President Obama, who visited Newtown, Conn., the site of the shootings, also wants to tighten gun laws.

"It's a complex problem that will require a complex solution," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. Carney, The Wall Street Journal reported, said the president wants to engage the public, parents, law enforcement and mental-health professionals to find a solution. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that she plans to introduce legislation to ban assault weapons at the start of the next Congress. 


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