Meng and Halloran have a nice, clean disagreement on assault weapons
Grace Meng. Azi Paybarah.
4:50 pm Jul. 23, 2012
The candidates in a congressional race in Queens are doing what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney aren't willing to: They're having a substantive argument about gun laws.
Assemblywoman Grace Meng, the Democrat, wants a ban on assault weapons and extended magazine clips; Councilman Dan Halloran doesn't.
When asked what legislative action she'd like Washington to take in response to the Aurora shooting that left 12 dead and 59 injured last week, Meng responded with the following statement: "It defies all logic and reason that semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity bullet magazines are available for purchase to the general public. These weapons serve no other purpose than to kill."
An aide confirmed she supported a return of the federal assault weapons ban (as advocated by the Democrat who represents Aurora) and a ban on magazine clips like the one used by gunman James Holmes in the Colorado shooting.
Halloran, a former police officer, said, "Criminals don't follow laws. Why would they follow new gun laws?"
The debate, he said, "is a distraction."
