Liss-Riordan seeks to scrap Second Amendment
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Shannon LissRiordan is calling to repeal the Second Amendment after gunmen killed 31 people in two massacres over the weekend.
“We’re reminded now, once again very sadly by the events that happened the other day, that we need to really make a strong movement in this country to tackle this gun crisis,” Liss-Riordan told the Herald. “The reason there are so many mass shootings and shooting deaths in America is because we have too many guns out there.” Liss-Riordan — who is challenging U.S. Sen. Ed Markey — called the Second Amendment “a major obstacle” to gun reform that “protects individuals that own the types of weapons that have no place in our streets” and said conversations need to start for its repeal. She also called for universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.
Steve Pemberton, another Democrat running for Markey’s seat, said there should be a “serious discussion” about abolishing the amendment. But to do so after the El Paso,Texas,andDayton, Ohio, tragedies “misses the urgency of the moment.” “Abolishing the Sec- ond Amendment will take years at best to accomplish,” Pemberton, whose father was killed by gun violence, said in a statement. “We need action now from our elected officials, including Senator Markey, to protect innocent lives. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to end their vacation and pass meaningful gun safety legislation that includes an assault weapons ban, background checks, eliminating high capacity magazines, and other critical measures.”
Markey tweeted Monday, “Democrats have introduced a litany of common-sense and lifesaving proposals to prevent gun violence” and blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for inaction.
Republican lawmakers are now weighing “red flag laws” adopted by several states that allow courts to temporarily restrict gun access to those perceived as threats, which President Trump said he supports. Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday urged his state’s GOP-led Legislature to pass that law and legislation requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales.
The FBI said Dayton shooter Connor Betts, 24, had an interest in violent ideology and opened an investigation Tuesday. The agency is investigating the Texas massacre as an act of domestic terrorism, meaning suspected gunman Patrick Crusius, charged with capital murder in El Paso County, could also be charged with a hate crime in federal court.
President Trump is expected to visit both cities today.