Easy access to weapons such as AR-15s does not help make the country safe, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., told MSNBC.
"My community, my country is not safer with this unfettered access of anybody that's 18 years or older having access to this platform," Mast told Monday's "Morning Joe."
Mast, an Army veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan while working as a bomb disposal expert, said he was trained in similar weapons because of how much damage it could inflict on enemies.
"The Army put this weapon in my hands because it was the best weapon to go out there and kill on the battlefield in the most dangerous country on Earth," Mast said. "That's why they put it in my hands. They didn't say, 'hey, here, take this, we hope you're going to be OK with it.'"
Mast noted he does not support taking guns away from their owners.
"I'm not a proponent for going into anybody's home and confiscating," he said. "We're not Russia under Stalin, or China under Mao Zedong, or Cuba under Castro. That's not who we are. We're talking about future sales here."
The congressman said he is an NRA member, a gun collector, and gun owner who enjoys shooting with his family.
"But we have got to look at keeping our community safe and protecting our children and protecting our schools," Mast said.
In a Friday opinion piece in The New York Times, Mast also noted his support for a ban on assault weapons.
"I know that no single action can prevent a truly determined person from committing mass murder, such as bombings and mass vehicular slaughter – not being able to control everything, however, should not prevent us from doing something," Mast wrote in the Times.
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