National Rifle Association President David Keene says that a proposed assault weapon ban will not have the strength to pass in Congress, and maintained that the organization would oppose any such restrictions.Vice President Joe Biden is set to announce a series of proposals to curb gun violence, prompted by the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month. The NRA has rejected the preliminary outline of Biden’s proposals, according to Keene, who appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
“We’re not going to compromise on people’s rights when there is no evidence that doing so is going to serve a purpose,”Keene said during the program.
“We don’t think any of those things work,” he continued. “You should absolutely be able to compromise on things that accomplish the purpose. Our objection to those things is that they interfere with people’s rights, without doing anything to solve the problem.”
Several congressmen have already expressed their desire to impose stricter regulations on assault weapons. Gun control advocates maintain that automatic weapons have no practical use, but the NRA refuses to support any legislation that would lead to restricting the weapons, basing their stance on the Second Amendment.
“They are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through Congress,” Keene said. “The fact is that we live in a society where first of all, we have constitutional rights, and secondly, there are millions upon millions of Americans who value the rights that they have under the Second Amendment and who are involved in the shooting sports or use firearms for self-defense, and we think that they will be heard.”
President Barack Obama identified gun violence as one of the major issues he plans to address during his second term in office. He will no doubt focus on some of Biden’s proposals during his State of the Union address on Feb. 12.
