White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended President Obama’s comments on gun control in recent days, reminding reporters that the president supported a ban on assault rifles.
“You don’t need an assault weapon to go hunting, it certainly is not part of anybody’s family heritage or family tradition,” Earnest said.
Earnest defended Obama’s comments about gun control, pointing out that he had many conversations with both urban and rural voters about the importance of gun ownership and the need to restrict it for safety reasons.
He reminded reporters that Obama wanted “common sense” rules like an assault weapon ban and enforcing background checks for all gun purchases – including gun shows.
Obama took the opportunity to “forcefully encourage Congress” to pass gun laws, Earnest explained, even though he understood that a Republican-led Congress would be unlikely to make any changes.
Reforming gun laws would make it more difficult for people to complete mass-shootings, Earnest insisted, but that a vocal “minority” made it politically difficult.
“We can do that without undermining the fundamental Second Amendment rights of law abiding Americans,” he said.
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