Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Thursday that he backs raising the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21.
Roberts told reporters in Topeka he believes Congress is poised to pass legislation addressing firearms in some form following last week’s shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
“This is an opportunity, if you look at these youngsters who are so emotionally tied in to this grief of losing their friends — but it’s more than gun control,” Roberts said, according to the Wichita Eagle. “But I think we’re ready as a Congress to actually pass something, and I think it’s going to be better background checks. Certainly nobody under 21 should have an AR-15.”
Under current federal law, the minimum purchasing age for a handgun is 21 years old and 18 years old for a long gun.
Roberts’ comments on raising the age to purchase assault rifles like an AR-15 put him at odds with the National Rifle Association, which said Wednesday it opposes raising the minimum purchasing age for long guns.
“We need serious proposals to prevent violent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from acquiring firearms,” NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said in a statement. “Passing a law that makes it illegal for a 20-year-old to purchase a shotgun or adult single mother from purchasing the most effective self-defense rifle on the market punishes law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals.”
Roberts, though, questioned the uses for an AR-15.
“I don’t know why anybody would want an AR-15 unless they’re going to take one out on the shooting range,” he said.
Debate over the age limit for purchasing firearms like the AR-15, as well as other possible gun measures, has been amplified following last week’s shooting at the Florida high school, which left 17 dead and more than a dozen injured.
The suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz, used an AR-15-style rifle, police said.
It was later revealed the FBI received a tip through its public tip line about Cruz, but failed to follow the proper protocols.
Roberts criticized the FBI for its handling of the tip.
“Then we’ve got the FBI and the tip line,” he said. “For goodness sakes, whoever did or did not do that, we ought to say, ‘Sorry, go long for another job.’”
