Dayton, El Paso Shootings Reopen Assault Weapon Ban Debate
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Should weapons of war be banned in America? It's a debate that's reopened in the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, both of which were committed with assault weapons.
The El Paso shooter killed 22 people with a legally-bought AK-47 assault rifle.
In Dayton, the shooter was able to kill nine and hit fourteen more in about thirty seconds with an AR-15 type assault weapon before police brought him down.
"I think they should be banned. You want to use an assault weapon? You want an extended clip? Join the military," says Burbank Congressman Adam Schiff.
Some Southland citizens agree with him.
"What's the need for that? It's war weapons," says Burbank resident and father of two, Marcus Simpson.
High school senior Haley Laca agrees: "I do think we need to rethink our guns laws."
Schiff notes the House has already passed a comprehensive background check bill but it's stalled in the Senate because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won't bring it up for a vote.
"He needs to be held accountable and so should the president," Schiff says, "The president needs to be held accountable for not insisting that the Senate take up these bills or giving lipservice to these bills every time there's a gun tragedy."
President Trump has not called for an examination of the nation's gun laws, saying instead that mental illness and hatred pulled the trigger in Dayton and El Paso -- not the gun.
