There is a crack in Team Clinton’s call for a new “assault weapons ban,” with the Democratic candidate’s top surrogate to the outdoors community saying that no gun should be banned.
California Rep. Mike Thompson, a long-time hunter and Vietnam War vet who has called for “common sense” restrictions like expanded background checks, said a ban like Clinton has demanded isn’t worth the fight, and could lead to the end of hunting.
Speaking as Clinton’s surrogate at a conference hosted by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership last week, Thompson said that “she has gone further than I have” on the issue to revive her husband’s 1994 ban. “She has called for an assault weapon ban,” he said.
Since it expired, the AR-15 platform has become America’s most popular rifle.
“There are over 10 million of them in civilian hands in United States of America, you’re not getting that toothpaste back in the bottle,” he said. “And personally I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. I would rather just say if you pass a background check, you can buy your gun, notwithstanding the type of gun.”
Thompson, however, warned gun owners against saying no to any new controls, suggesting that the larger number of non-gun owners will eventually win in a polarized battle.
Thompson, who participated in the recent Democratic anti-gun House floor sit-in, also suggested the the quick availability of guns should be looked at because it might help terrorists.
“We know that terrorists organizations have specifically put the word out to folks in Western countries that they should do the proverbial lone wolf type of attacks. They’ve been as specific as saying, ‘Guns are easy to get in the United States, what are you waiting for?’ and we ought to take this into consideration,” he said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
