Arizona Republican Rep. Ben Quayle told The Daily Caller that federal gun control laws proposed by Democrats including New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg won’t stop crimes like the Aurora, Colo., shooting massacre because government “can’t regulate evil.”
TheDC asked Quayle if he agrees with Lautenberg’s bill that would outlaw the sale of high capacity ammunition clips.
“No, look, I mean, the problem is you can’t regulate evil. Evil happens. This individual, the guy who was in Aurora, Colorado, he is an evil person and was going to find a way to inflict as much damage as possible… those that want to actually have evil actions, they’re going to find a way to do that regardless of what restrictions Congress or the state puts on them,” Quayle told TheDC on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
“See, that’s the problem with thinking that you can regulate people’s minds and people’s actual actions. You can’t do it. When somebody wants to do something as atrocious as that person did in Colorado, they’re going to find one way to do it. Look at what he did in his house with rigging it with bombs and explosives. He could have used the various incendiary devices in a crowded theater and so you can’t continue to just regulate because it’s only going to hurt and affect people who are law abiding and will use it in a responsible manner.”
TheDC also asked Quayle about Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Lautenberg arguing that a sportsman does not need 100 rounds to shoot an animal.
“It’s going to start with high capacity magazines and it’s going to work it’s way down to where they’re just going to be able to take away all of the weapons that people will want to have for their own protection but also look at this cities that have the most restrictive gun laws,” Quayle said in response.
“Look at Chicago, Chicago is right now suffering one of the worst violent gun sprees in its history and they have some of the most restrictive gun laws. Why is that? Because law-abiding citizens will abide by those gun restrictions, criminals won’t and so that’s where these types of regulations just don’t make any sense.”
James Holmes, who killed 12 and injured 58 in a shooting at a screening of “The Dark Night Rises,” reportedly received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for his education at the University of Colorado.
“The problem with the whole process of grants and all of these other things is that they give it out kind of willy-nilly, there’s not as much oversight as there needs to be and that’s the problem when you are spending other people’s money,” said Quayle.