In what appears to be a growing Republican recognition that some sort of gun control is necessary, Florida GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" on Tuesday that "we clearly have to do more to make sure guns stay out of the hands of those who want to harm innocent people."
Curbelo, who insists he is a strong backer of the Second Amendment, said it is no contradiction to also support raising the minimum age to buy semi-automatic weapons, like the one used in last week's Florida school shooting in which 17 were killed.
"If an 18-year-old, a 19-year-old can't buy a handgun — oh, and by the way, they also can't buy a beer at a restaurant — why can they buy these powerful long guns that are capable of inflicting so much damage as we saw at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last week?" Curbelo asked.
In addition, the congressman said that "there's some very obvious steps that we can take. I'm supporting universal background check legislation to make sure every gun transfer is run through the NICS, the background check system."
He noted that Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy "has a bill to allow the CDC to research gun violence in the context of public health."
Asked what fellow Republicans are saying about his support for some form of gun control, Curbelo said, "There's a growing interest. A lot of Republicans are saying, yes, some of these changes are really common sense. They're not going to limit gun rights for responsible gun owners, and there's an appetite to really work together and get something done."
He added that many "Republicans are frustrated, because after the Las Vegas shooting, there was broad consensus and support in Washington, D.C., bipartisan to ban bump stocks. I filed that legislation. Everyone thought it was a good idea, and then nothing happened, and that's just not acceptable this time."
Asked about mental health issues that according to surveys many Americans blame for the killings, Curbelo called for "a holistic approach," insisting that "guns aren't the only problem. They're just one of the elements of this challenge that we're facing as a society, and we do have to invest more in mental health. We have to strengthen the NICS — the background check system — so that those who do have mental health disorders are accurately reported to the NICS system and can't gain access to these types of weapons."
He stressed that even though "this is not only about guns, we cannot ignore the gun issue, and by the way, none of these solutions will 100 percent guarantee that these tragedies are prevented in the future, but it may prevent some, and it mitigate others, and if we can save lives, this will all be worthwhile, so I hope Republican leadership and the president get behind some simple solutions that can help make all Americans safe."
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