During a private meeting on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rejected the “assault weapons” ban being pushed my Democrat colleagues and Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson.
Pelosi said Democrats should focus on fights that are actually winnable, and she does not see an AR-15 ban as one of those fights.
According to Politico, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) put forward the “assault weapons” ban, and Pelosi shut it down. She said, “It’s not that we’re not strong enough to make the fight. It’s just that we want to win the fight.”
Breitbart News reported that Gretchen Carlson took time on air Tuesday to push for a ban on AR-15s. She said they are not needed “to hunt or kill deer” and suggested they only serve to enable terrorists to carry out their attacks with greater efficiency. She quoted a December 2015 poll showing majority support for an “assault weapons” ban and said, “I’m with the majority today, taking a stand.”
Pelosi is saying such a ban is not going to happen–not now anyway.
But this does not mean Pelosi and the Democrats are done pursuing gun control. On the contrary, she is being pragmatic and seeking controls both winnable and insidious.
Gun controllers, like Sandy Hook Promise’s Mark Barden, agree with this approach. Barden said, “We work hard to try to stay out of the polarizing divisiveness that comes with this debate. We’ve identified the lack of engagement as really the No. 1 issue that is keeping this movement from moving forward. By steering around that, we feel like we can bring more people and more voices.”
On July 17, country music singer Tim McGraw held a gun control fundraiser consisting of a concert, with all proceeds going to Sandy Hook Promise.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.