Manchin wants to raise age to 21 for gun purchases, doesn't see need for AR-15s
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia voiced his support Monday for raising the age to 21 for purchasing semi-automatic weapons and questioned why individuals need to own high-powered AR-15-style weapons, putting him at odds with Republicans who are resisting imposing any restrictions on access to firearms.
"I never thought I had a need for that type of a high-capacity automatic weapon," Manchin told CNN on Monday. "I like to shoot, I like to go out and hunt. I like to go out sports shooting. I do all of that. But I've never felt I needed something of that magnitude."
Manchin also said he "wouldn't have a problem on looking at" backing a ban on so-called assault weapons -- a proposal pushed by the White House and Democratic leaders, but that stands no chance of winning the needed 60-votes in the Senate.
"It depends on what they, how they would approach it," Manchin said. "I'm open to anything that makes gun sense."
The comments from the Senate's most conservative Democrat -- who hails from a state with a strong gun culture -- show growing Democratic support for imposing tough new gun laws as senators try to see whether there can be any compromise with Republicans to deal with episodes of gun violence ravaging communities nationwide. The position underscores how the two sides still have a number of major disagreements to resolve as they race to cut a deal this week amid public outcry over mass shootings nationwide.
Manchin is part of a small bipartisan group of Senate negotiators trying to finalize a deal on guns. The negotiators are not discussing some of President Joe Biden's demands such as renewing the expired assault weapons ban, but they are looking at a handful of changes, including incentivizing states to enact red flag laws, which allow guns to be temporarily taken away from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others, expand background checks on gun purchases, bolster the mental health care system and beef up school security. There is also discussion about new regulations on gun trafficking between states and potential new legislation on storing weapons safely at gun owners' residences.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/politics/manchin-gun-purchase-age-ar15s/index.html
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