Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut called for pushing gun control immediately following a mass shooting in Las Vegas, and believes any grieving period is a “tool of the gun lobby,” he said Tuesday.
“It’s a very convenient tool of the gun lobby to say that there’s got to be a 24-48 hour waiting period before we talk about change,” Murphy said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He ultimately blamed Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock for Sunday’s massacre, but also blamed federal and state laws.
“The reality is that much of it is rooted in the evil inside this one individual, but much of it is also rooted in our laws, which allowed him to get his hands on weapons that are illegal in almost every other civilized country,” he said.
The senator reiterated his support for banning semi-automatic rifles and bump stocks, and said he wants to start pushing for these changes “immediately.”
WATCH:
“Maybe he still would have taken a pistol and shot through the window. Killed perhaps dozens below. But it would have been difficult without the semi-automatic weapon and the modifications that are still legal to this day, in this country. So I think we’ve got to talk about change immediately,” Murphy said.
Mass shootings represent one percent of gun casualties in America, he claimed and said murders with 10 or more victims have doubled since an assault weapon ban expired.
Murphy continued to name the “gun lobby” as public enemy number one, and believes the lobby purposely focuses on the most recent mass shooting to distract from past tragedies.
“I think the gun lobby wants you, in the wake of a mass shooting to only talk about the policy changes that would have effected the shooting that happened the day before,” he said.
He compared Paddock to Newtown, Conn., shooter Adam Lanza, claiming mass shooters would think twice if they were denied rifles and tactical gear.
“In Newtown we ask ourselves whether Adam Lanza would ever have walked into that school if he didn’t have tactical weaponry,” Murphy concluded. “There is a false bizarre kind of courage that comes with attaching yourself to these kinds of very powerful weapons, and there is a question as to whether these shooters would ever take up position if all they had was a pistol.”
WATCH PRESIDENT TRUMP EXTEND CONDOLENCES TO THE VICTIMS OF LAS VEGAS:
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