McClatchy Newspapers - Growing Gun-Control Consensus Concerns Manufacturers
December 19, 2012
WASHINGTON â€" Manufacturers of the popular AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the type of weapon used last week in the Newtown, Conn., killings, girded for the worst Tuesday as gun control moved to the forefront of the legislative agenda in the nation's capital and retailers pulled the weapon from store sales floors and websites.
Republicans and Democrats were in rare lockstep, with prominent figures in each party calling Tuesday for a special commission to look into the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and recommend changes in gun-control laws and the nation's mental health system.
Retailers either were removing high-powered weapons from their sales floors or pulling down online information on the weapons used in the mass killing, as well as in shootings earlier this month in an Oregon mall and over the summer in Aurora, Colo.
The National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun lobby, broke its silence Tuesday, saying its members were “shocked, saddened and heartbroken” by the “horrific and senseless murders.” The NRA, which plans a news conference Friday, said it was “prepared to offer meaningful contributions” to prevent another such massacre.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have huddled with Cabinet members and senior staffers this week to begin forging a more formal response to last week's mass shooting of schoolchildren. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that Obama was “actively supportive” of legislation reintroduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Feinstein hopes to revive an assault-weapon ban that expired in 2004, and Carney said the president also supported ending a loophole that allowed Americans to skirt federal background checks by purchasing assault weapons at gun shows, where standard background checks may be waived.
Congressional gun rights supporters showed an increased willingness Tuesday to consider new legislation to control firearms after the Connecticut school shootings â€" provided it also addresses mental-health issues and the impact of violent video games.
A former co-chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and 10-term House Republican Jack Kingston â€" a Georgia lawmaker elected with strong National Rifle Association backing â€" were the latest to join the call to consider gun control as part of a comprehensive, anti-violence effort next year.
“Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table,” Kingston said.
But he added that nothing should be done immediately, saying, “There is a time for mourning and a time to sort it out. I look forward to sorting it out and getting past the grief stage.”
Carney said the president also would support legislation that closes a gun show “loophole,” which allows people to buy guns from private dealers without a background check. And he says Obama would be “interested in looking at” legislation to restrict high capacity ammunition clips.
The spokesman said Obama was heartened by growing support on Capitol Hill for a national discussion on gun violence, particularly from seemingly unlikely lawmakers. The president spoke on the phone Tuesday with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat and avid hunter, who said after the Connecticut shootings that “everything should be on the table” in those discussions.
Among members of Congress, Thompson, the former Sportsmen's Caucus co-chairman, was named to lead a Democratic task force on gun violence. He's a hunter, a wounded Vietnam veteran and a conservative Democrat.
“The only experience I've had with assault weapons was the one that I was trained with when I was in the Army,” he said. “I know that this is not a war on guns. Gun owners and hunters across this country have every right to own legitimate guns for legitimate purposes and … we are not going to take law-abiding citizens' guns away from them.”
One reason that last week's killing spree was so deadly is that gunman Adam Lanza had large-capacity magazine clips that allowed him to fire multiple rounds before having to reload.
Makers of AR-15s pondered the possibility that they soon might be legislated into oblivion.
“Our sole business being the assault rifle, it is a concern that it will literally put us out of business,” said Ken Rinkor, vice president of Tactical Arms Manufacturer Inc. in Huntersville, N.C. “That is not for us to determine. If the general public decides to vote the way of banning assault rifles, then they can certainly do so, and we don't have an opinion on how it will affect us.”
The family owned company near Charlotte is a specialty manufacturer of AR-15s, advertising on its website that “the same AR15 M4 used by the U.S. Army can be your home defense weapon of choice.” The company sells mostly to law enforcement personnel, Rinkor said.
While he feared a ban on rifles, Rinkor supported calls for a ban on sales to the public of high-capacity magazines, which may be used on his AR-15s or those made by other manufacturers.
“Frankly, I think there's no need for anybody to have such … magazines, 20 or 30 rounds. It makes no sense at all to have that large of a magazine, even for personal protection,” he said.
Private-equity giant Cerberus Capital Management LP announced Tuesday that it had hired a financial adviser and would begin the process of selling Freedom Group, the company it owns that makes the Bushmaster AR-15 military-style rifle, one of which was used to kill 26 students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary.
“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” the company said in a statement that announced its plans to sell the lucrative company it founded as an umbrella for numerous gun makers it's acquired.
There was a clear self-interest at stake in the surprise announcement. The California State Teachers' Retirement System and other big public pension funds were considering divesting their stakes in Cerberus, threatening the private-equity firm's broad investments. The close look at Cerberus followed a call to boycott the Wall Street firm from former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Republicans and Democrats were in rare lockstep, with prominent figures in each party calling Tuesday for a special commission to look into the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and recommend changes in gun-control laws and the nation's mental health system.
Retailers either were removing high-powered weapons from their sales floors or pulling down online information on the weapons used in the mass killing, as well as in shootings earlier this month in an Oregon mall and over the summer in Aurora, Colo.
The National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun lobby, broke its silence Tuesday, saying its members were “shocked, saddened and heartbroken” by the “horrific and senseless murders.” The NRA, which plans a news conference Friday, said it was “prepared to offer meaningful contributions” to prevent another such massacre.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have huddled with Cabinet members and senior staffers this week to begin forging a more formal response to last week's mass shooting of schoolchildren. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that Obama was “actively supportive” of legislation reintroduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Feinstein hopes to revive an assault-weapon ban that expired in 2004, and Carney said the president also supported ending a loophole that allowed Americans to skirt federal background checks by purchasing assault weapons at gun shows, where standard background checks may be waived.
Congressional gun rights supporters showed an increased willingness Tuesday to consider new legislation to control firearms after the Connecticut school shootings â€" provided it also addresses mental-health issues and the impact of violent video games.
A former co-chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and 10-term House Republican Jack Kingston â€" a Georgia lawmaker elected with strong National Rifle Association backing â€" were the latest to join the call to consider gun control as part of a comprehensive, anti-violence effort next year.
“Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table,” Kingston said.
But he added that nothing should be done immediately, saying, “There is a time for mourning and a time to sort it out. I look forward to sorting it out and getting past the grief stage.”
Carney said the president also would support legislation that closes a gun show “loophole,” which allows people to buy guns from private dealers without a background check. And he says Obama would be “interested in looking at” legislation to restrict high capacity ammunition clips.
The spokesman said Obama was heartened by growing support on Capitol Hill for a national discussion on gun violence, particularly from seemingly unlikely lawmakers. The president spoke on the phone Tuesday with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat and avid hunter, who said after the Connecticut shootings that “everything should be on the table” in those discussions.
Among members of Congress, Thompson, the former Sportsmen's Caucus co-chairman, was named to lead a Democratic task force on gun violence. He's a hunter, a wounded Vietnam veteran and a conservative Democrat.
“The only experience I've had with assault weapons was the one that I was trained with when I was in the Army,” he said. “I know that this is not a war on guns. Gun owners and hunters across this country have every right to own legitimate guns for legitimate purposes and … we are not going to take law-abiding citizens' guns away from them.”
One reason that last week's killing spree was so deadly is that gunman Adam Lanza had large-capacity magazine clips that allowed him to fire multiple rounds before having to reload.
Makers of AR-15s pondered the possibility that they soon might be legislated into oblivion.
“Our sole business being the assault rifle, it is a concern that it will literally put us out of business,” said Ken Rinkor, vice president of Tactical Arms Manufacturer Inc. in Huntersville, N.C. “That is not for us to determine. If the general public decides to vote the way of banning assault rifles, then they can certainly do so, and we don't have an opinion on how it will affect us.”
The family owned company near Charlotte is a specialty manufacturer of AR-15s, advertising on its website that “the same AR15 M4 used by the U.S. Army can be your home defense weapon of choice.” The company sells mostly to law enforcement personnel, Rinkor said.
While he feared a ban on rifles, Rinkor supported calls for a ban on sales to the public of high-capacity magazines, which may be used on his AR-15s or those made by other manufacturers.
“Frankly, I think there's no need for anybody to have such … magazines, 20 or 30 rounds. It makes no sense at all to have that large of a magazine, even for personal protection,” he said.
Private-equity giant Cerberus Capital Management LP announced Tuesday that it had hired a financial adviser and would begin the process of selling Freedom Group, the company it owns that makes the Bushmaster AR-15 military-style rifle, one of which was used to kill 26 students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary.
“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” the company said in a statement that announced its plans to sell the lucrative company it founded as an umbrella for numerous gun makers it's acquired.
There was a clear self-interest at stake in the surprise announcement. The California State Teachers' Retirement System and other big public pension funds were considering divesting their stakes in Cerberus, threatening the private-equity firm's broad investments. The close look at Cerberus followed a call to boycott the Wall Street firm from former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.