On Wednesday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) argued that handguns “are not for hunting. They’re not for protection. I think handguns are, frankly, for killing people. We need to do something about making sure that bad guys don’t get their hands on handguns.”
Host John McArdle asked, “President Biden, in Buffalo yesterday, calling this an act of terrorism, condemning white supremacy as a poison, and calling on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. At this point, in this closely-divided Congress, do you see any appetite right now to take up, once again, the idea of an assault weapons ban in this country?”
Garcia responded, “I don’t think it’s a question, John, of our appetite. I think the public is demanding it. I think people are sick and tired of hearing of these incidents. They’re just happening too often. What happened in Buffalo was horrific, but before that, other incidents were horrific. I mean, my heart just breaks when I hear the audio of one of the relatives of one of the victims, who just said, we are tired. We are angry.”
She continued, “Many people that I’ve talked to, even in Texas, which is — people consider a very pro-gun state, people are tired. I grew up in the country. I know how to shoot a rifle. I know how to shoot a shotgun, a .410. I own a .410. I keep it in my house in case I ever have an intruder and my alarm system doesn’t work. But it’s kept safely. It’s only for that purpose. Handguns, in my view, are not for hunting. They’re not for protection. I think handguns are, frankly, for killing people. We need to do something about making sure that bad guys don’t get their hands on handguns. And we need to make sure that these assault and automatic weapons don’t get in the hands of bad guys, and sometimes, bad women. Because, again, I’ve been rabbit hunting. I’ve been quail hunting. I’ve been deer hunting. You don’t take an automatic weapon to hunt. That’s just meant to shoot someone and many people very quickly. So, we need to do something about it. And I certainly support a ban and I think we need to do it. Because people want action. When we were on the floor and we stood up for a moment of silence for all the victims of Buffalo, one of my colleagues said, okay, but now what are we going to do? It’s time to do something. I’m glad the president is putting that on the table. And I think we all need to rally around it and I think the public needs to show that this is something they demand and demand now.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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