Hoyer: Gun controls could have saved ‘a lot of lives’ in Arizona

Legislation banning high-capacity ammunition clips could have saved “a lot of lives” in Arizona this month, a top House Democrat said Tuesday.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters that
high-capacity clips like those allegedly used in the Arizona shooting have
essentially one purpose: “Taking a lot of lives quickly.

“Had [the shooter] had a 12 clip — a 12-capacity clip —
there might have been a lot of lives saved,” Hoyer said.

{mosads}Police have charged a lone gunman in the Jan. 8 rampage in
Tucson, Ariz., that killed six people and injured 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords (D-Ariz.). The shooter allegedly used an extended clip capable of
holding 33 bullets, instead of the standard 15-bullet clip that comes with the
Glock 19 handgun.

Gun-control advocates on and off Capitol Hill have argued
that a ban on high-capacity clips would have forced the shooter to reload
sooner, perhaps lessening the carnage seen in the tragedy. The gun lobby
and its supporters have opposed such proposals, however, maintaining they
infringe on Second Amendment rights to gun ownership and self-protection.

On Tuesday, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced
legislation limiting ammunition magazines to 10 bullets — a provision of the
1993 assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004.

“We need comprehensive reform to reduce the number of people
hurt or killed by gunfire in America, but one simple way we can do that is by
keeping the worst tools of mass murder away from the general public,” said
McCarthy, whose husband was killed and son seriously injured in a 1993 shooting
on a Long Island commuter train. 

“It is a small sacrifice that law-abiding gun owners can
make once again in order to increase everyone’s safety.”

A national poll conducted for CNN last week by Opinion
Research Corp. found that 61 percent of voters favor a ban on ammunition
clips holding more than 10 bullets. 

Most Republicans on Capitol Hill are opposed to stricter gun
laws.

“Our constitutional right to bear arms does not create a
society without risks of violent crime, and neither would the strictest gun-control laws,” Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) wrote Monday in an op-ed for The Hill. “Guns and
violence are a fact of life. The question is whether it is preferable to be
defenseless while waiting for the police, or to have the option to arm
yourself. We certainly know criminals prefer the former.”

Hoyer — who supports both McCarthy’s bill and a return of
the broader assault-weapons ban — said the Arizona shooting will heighten the
gun-control debate on Capitol Hill, but didn’t appear optimistic that any
reform proposals could move through a Republican-controlled House.

“I don’t know whether they’re going to gain traction in the
House,” Hoyer said. “There will be added interest. We’ll see what the
Republicans do.”