Email
WASHINGTON – Rep. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico loves to hunt, has opposed an assault weapons ban and proudly touts his support of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
But on Monday, the former Albuquerque city councilor and father of two young boys said last week’s shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., left him “deeply affected” and willing to consider “sensible policy” to keep guns away from criminals and the mentally ill as long as it doesn’t infringe on lawful gun owners’ rights.
“It’s no secret that I have always believed that law-abiding citizens should be able to own firearms for both sport and self-defense,” said Heinrich, who won election to the U.S. Senate in November and will be sworn into the upper chamber next month. “Like many law-abiding New Mexicans, I own guns for those very purposes. But I don’t need a 25-round clip for effective home defense, and I sure don’t need one for hunting. That’s just too much killing power. It defies common sense.”
Heinrich said he would take a “very serious look all legislative proposals aimed at preventing these horrific tragedies.”
Other Democrats in New Mexico’s congressional delegation went even further. One, Rep.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham, called for an immediate reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, while others said Congress should consider limiting the sheer firepower that comes from large gun magazines.
Rep. Steve Pearce, the delegation’s lone Republican, said it is too soon to initiate a debate on gun control because the nation needs time to grieve the loss of life in Connecticut. Pearce also suggested that new laws are not the solution.
“In the wake of such tragedy, it is tempting for politicians to blame our laws, or seek a quick legislative fix,” Pearce said. “I welcome a discussion of federal policies and politics, but at the appropriate time. Simply, new gun regulations will never change the sickness and depravity that drives someone to murder schoolchildren and teachers.”
Lujan Grisham, a Democrat elected to New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in November, disagreed. She called for immediate action to enact an assault weapons ban and to close a so-called gun-show loophole that allows people to buy guns without background checks.
“Congress can no longer afford to wait on enacting a ban on assault weapons, including automatic and semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazine clips,” Lujan Grisham said. “Additionally, we need to close the gun-show loophole.”
Lujan Grisham, a former state secretary of health, also called for additional mental health care funding.
“We need to make it easier for people to get the care they need, when they need it,” she said. “This also needs to include school-based health centers as a first line defense.”
Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has opposed bans on so-called assault weapons in the past, calling the legislation ineffective. But he said he would be open to considering a new assault weapons ban proposal that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., plans to introduce in the next Congress.
Udall said he is also “open to legislation to require firearm sales at gun shows to be subject to timely background checks.”
“Every idea must be on the table and I will carefully consider any reasonable legislation proposed in Congress that is crafted to help prevent future tragedies,” Udall said.
Like Heinrich, Rep. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat, stressed that he supports the Second Amendment. But he also said the nation’s laws must find better “balance” between gun rights and public safety. Luján said high-capacity magazines might need the most immediate attention from Congress.
“While I have expressed concern about limits on magazine capacity in the past, we have seen high-capacity magazines on any gun amplify the amount of destruction and loss of life that can be caused,” Luján said. “Focusing on the size of magazines is one way to begin to address these horrific events while taking into account Second Amendment rights and our responsibility to promote public safety.”
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat who is retiring next month after a 30-year career, said he supports re-enacting the assault weapons ban and closing the gun-show loophole.
Bingaman also said that if Congress hopes to take any significant action on gun control, it should act fast.
“The longer it’s delayed the less likely it is that Congress will change its position on the issue,” Bingaman said.
He also said simple facts about guns and violence in the United States lead him to conclude that greater controls are necessary.
“It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that we have much more violence perpetrated with guns in our society than most – and perhaps any – industrial countries because we don’t have any reasonable regulation of acquisition of guns,” Bingaman said. ⋄ DEMOCRATS IN N.M. DELEGATION URGE increased controls on firearms
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at mcoleman@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 202-525-5633
