Doug Jones, the Democrat running for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat, says he loves to hunt but the Second Amendment has “limitations.”
He believes that every right enumerated in the Bill of Rights is limited, and the Second Amendment is no exception.
According to the Alabama Political Reporter, Jones described himself as “a Second Amendment guy,” but stressed that some gun control is necessary. He said, “We’ve got limitations on all constitutional amendments in one form or another.” This position is contrary to the clear language of the amendment, which states that the right to keep and bear arms “shall not be infringed.”
He stressed that he loves to hunt but still believes in “smart” gun laws.
During a September 24, 2017, appearance on Meet the Press, Jones said, “The biggest issue, I think, that’s facing the Second Amendment right now is that we need to make sure we shore up the National Crime Information System, the NICS system for background checks, to both keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but at the same time, cut down on error so that law-abiding citizens can get those.”
New gun control focused on background checks has been introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) since Jones’ appearance on Meet the Press. Like Jones, Sen. Murphy believes the Second Amendment has limitations.
During a May 2013 appearance on Rachel Maddow Lean Forward, Murphy said, “The Second Amendment is not an absolute right, not a God-given right. It has always had conditions upon it like the First Amendment has.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com