Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he’s a supporter of Second Amendment, but he might not understand exactly what the right to bear arms really means.
Reid delivered remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the upcoming vote on gun legislation, but he also took to Twitter to express his support for harsher gun laws.
I will vote for assault weapons ban because maintaining law and order and saving lives is more important than preventing imagined tyranny.
— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) April 17, 2013
During his Senate remarks, Reid said he protects Americans’ right to own a gun and protect their family, but doesn’t see that right extended to assault weapons.
“You do not need an assault weapon to defend yourself and your property,” he said. “Assault weapons have one purpose and one purpose only: to kill a large number of people really quick.”
Reid added that Americans should have the right to defend themselves against criminals, but shouldn’t need to arm themselves against the military or the police, since neither is “out to get us.”
“There conspiracy theories are dangerous and they should be put to rest,” he said, rebuffing what Vice President Joe Biden calls the “black helicopter crowd.”
Yet polling from earlier this year shows that a majority of Americans — 65 percent — believe the Second Amendment was written so citizens can protect themselves against tyranny.
The Senate Majority Leader also explained that when he used to go hunting as a boy, Nevada state law mandated that his shotgun only shoot three rounds, giving birds a “sporting chance.”
“So why shouldn’t we limit the number of bullets in a clip?” he asked. “Don’t people deserve as much protection as birds?”
Throughout the course of his statements on the Senate floor, Reid also incorrectly referred to gun magazines as “clips.”
“So high-capacity magazines — clips — that’s what I call them,” he said.
The gun legislation package — introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — will come to a vote on Wednesday afternoon.
