Democrat Rep. Apologizes for Not Backing an ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban Before Maine Attack

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) apologized Thursday for not backing an “assault weapons” ban before Wednesday’s Lewiston attacks and pledged to support such legislation going forward.

He voiced his apology during a presser aired on MSNBC:

Golden did not mention the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice report which showed that the federal “assault weapons” ban, in force from 1994 to 2004, could not be credited with any reduction in crime.

He also omitted the fact that California has had an “assault weapons” ban since 1989, yet California was the number one state for “active shooter incidents” in 2021.

Additionally, even with an “assault weapons” ban on the books, more than 17 percent of annual U.S. gun murders occur in California.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.