Adams dismisses gun effort at hearing

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, defending gun rights at an emotional — and occasionally combative — U.S. Senate hearing that examined new proposals to ban military-style guns and high-capacity magazines.

The Orlando Republican, who got top marks from the National Rifle Association during her two years in Congress, was one of eight witnesses to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she repeatedly pushed back against the argument that new firearm restrictions would reduce violence.

“It is not time for feel-good legislation to say you did something,” said Adams, who was a deputy sheriff with Orange County before entering politics. Her law- enforcement background prompted U. S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the committee, to invite her to testify.

Adams sat stone-faced, hands folded, as a parent and an ER doctor recounted the Dec. 14 shooting of 26 people in Newtown, Conn., that prompted this latest attempt at gun control.

Most wrenching was the tearful testimony of Neil Heslin, whose son, Jesse, was one of the 20children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He recalled sending Jesse, 6, to school that day with a breakfast of eggs and hot chocolate before embracing him a final time.

“I can still feel that hug and that pat on the back,” said Heslin, who questioned why Congress should continue protecting assault weapons from regulation.

“What purpose do they serve in civilians’ hands or on the street? I haven’t received an answer yet.”

Adams, sitting a few feet from Heslin, said she sympathized with himand other grieving parents. “My heart, thoughts and prayers are with those families of Sandy Hook and also the first responders who are going through a lot right now,” she said.

But Adams argued that banning certain guns or restricting magazine sizes to 10 rounds or less wouldn’t solve the problem of gun violence and could impair the ability of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

“I believe that no one knows better what a person needs [for self- defense] than the person herself or himself,” she testified.

Her alternative: Authorities should do a better job of using background checks to prevent the mentally ill from acquiring firearms.

Adams’ dig about “feel-good legislation,” however, prompted an angry retort from U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., one of 22 co- sponsors of the assaultweapons ban being proposed by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif.

“This is not feel-good legislation. I don’t feel good about being here,” Durbin said. “We’re trying to make this country safer.”

After the hearing, Adams was coy when asked whether her return to Capitol Hill signaled the beginning of a political comeback following her primary defeat last August by U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park.

“You never know about me,” Adams said.