Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) reacted to the Wednesday night attacks in Lewiston, Maine, by pushing an “assault weapons” ban (again).
Police have yet to identify the firearm used in the attacks, although photographs of the person of interest appears to be holding some sort of long gun.
A man with a gun walks on the street in Maine, United States on October 26, 2023. At least 22 people were killed in shootings at multiple locations Maine late Wednesday, according to a report. Maine State Police had issued a warning about an ‘active shooter’ incident in the city of Lewiston. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Murphy responded by posting to X, “Another deeply mentally ill man, armed with a military semi-automatic rifle, commits mass murder. This isn’t hard. a. Keep weapons away from potentially dangerous people. b. Don’t let anyone have an assault weapon.”
He claimed that following his plan of action would lead to a decline in “mass shootings” without harming anyone’s Second Amendment rights.
WATCH — CNN’s Coates: Maine Shooter Picked “Soft Targets” Where He Didn’t Think He’d Get a Response, Didn’t Pick a Gun Range:
Murphy did not explain how denying Americans the most popular rifle in the country — popular for self-defense, target shooting, and hunting — can be done without curtailing the exercise of the Second Amendment.
Moreover, he did not mention the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice findings that the federal “assault weapons” ban, 1994-2004, could not be credited with any reduction in crime.
Additionally, Murphy did not discuss the vast number of AR-15s and similar rifles that are owned by Americans at this time.
RELATED VIDEO — Murphy: Senate Should Defund Law Enforcement Refusing to Enforce Gun Laws:
For example, on June 21, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) findings that there are more AR/AK-style firearms in circulation “than Ford F-Series trucks on the road.” At that time, an NSSF press release indicated the estimated number of AR/AK-Style firearms in circulation was 24,446,000.
That number could be much higher now.
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
