Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., has modified his position on federally banning AR-15 rifles in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting, which led to the deaths of 19 children and two adults last week.
While speaking to ABC's "This Week" program on Sunday, the Illinois Republican said, "I'm a strong defender of the Second Amendment. And one of the things I believe that for some reason is a very rare thing is that as a person that appreciates and believes in the Second Amendment, we have to be the ones putting forward reasonable solutions to gun violence."
Later on CNN, Kinzinger was more definitive about the banishment talk: "Look, I have opposed a ban, you know, fairly recently. I think I'm open to a ban now."
Kinzinger added: "It's going to depend on what it looks like, because there's a lot of nuances on what constitutes, you know, certain things," while adding new laws might require an "extra license" or "extra training" to own weapons like an AR-15.
Per CNN, Kinzinger also supports universal background checks and "red flag" laws.
Kinzinger, who won't be seeking congressional reelection this year, also threw out a statistic that seemingly runs contrary to mainstream polls from the last month.
"At that point, it's like, OK, this is getting out of hand," Kinzinger told CNN. "The problem is everyone is scared to inaction. They're frightened of the loudest voices. And 90% of Americans are begging that we do something."
Democrats, for their part, face an uphill battle with gun control legislation.
The Senate filibuster currently requires a 60-vote threshold to enact sweeping changes to any established constitutional law; and last week, moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said, "The filibuster is the only thing that prevents us from total insanity."
For the November midterm elections, Republicans need a net positive of five seats to claim the majority in the House chamber, and just a net of one seat to control the Senate.
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