Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) walks out of moment of silence for Orlando victims [View all]

[cali]

Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts, is suddenly a big deal after he walked out of a congressional moment of silence for victims of the Orlando shooting as a protest against the lack of gun reform. Here he talks about prepping his soldiers for the brutality of war, whether genuine gun reform might actually succeed, and if he’s really in the running to be Hillary’s veep.

Seth Moulton is a 38-year-old freshman Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, but his youth and lack of seniority haven't prevented him from cutting a large profile on Capitol Hill. A Harvard grad who joined the Marines and served four tours in Iraq—and who refreshingly (and shockingly) has underplayed his military service, including the fact that he won a Bronze Star—Moulton has already become one of his party's top foreign policy thinkers. This week, after the attack in Orlando, he waded—plunged, really—into the gun-control debate, appearing on the front page of New York's Daily News with an op-ed calling for an assault-weapons ban. I recently spoke to Moulton about Orlando, ISIS, Trump, and whether he wants to be Hillary Clinton's running mate.

On Sunday, after the attack in Orlando, you posted a tweet offering your "thoughts and prayers," and then on Monday you walked off the House floor during the moment of silence for the victims of the shooting, later explaining that you won't attend another one ever again. What changed between that original tweet and your walking off the floor?

I heard from Americans. I heard from constituents who said that thoughts and prayers aren't enough; thoughts and prayers aren't working; we need to take action. I understand I'm one of the few members of Congress who does his own Twitter account, so I saw it right away. Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut was, I think, the first to say, "You know what, I'm just not even going to attend these moments of silence." And I thought that was a good statement. Some people have said, "Well, that's disrespectful to the victims." I think what's disrespectful to the victims is refusing to even have a debate about passing reasonable reforms to prevent these mass shootings from happening.

<snip>

read:http://www.gq.com/story/seth-moulton-republicans-scared-of-nra

Op-Ed by Rep. Moulton:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/civilians-no-reason-owning-assault-weapons-article-1.2674107