Recently, one Republican congressman has taken a stance that claims that raising the minimum age for American citizens to purchase firearms to 21 years old is just entirely a “no-brainer.”
The rep in question, Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, issued the stance as part of an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with Jonathan Karl that premiered this past Sunday.
“I think that raising the minimum age of gun purchases to 21 is a no-brainer,” stated Kinzinger.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that raising minimum age for gun purchases to 21 “is a no brainer" to him.
“If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21.” https://t.co/Ndo3NsrFp7 pic.twitter.com/mBpxDBiyJF
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022
“If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21. We know that the human brain develops and matures a lot between the ages of 18 and 21. We just raised, without really so much as a blink, the age of purchasing cigarettes federally to 21. I think we need to get there eventually,” he went on.
These statements crop up just a scant few days after a mass shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which the lives of 19 children and two teachers were taken. The shooter in that incident was finally taken down by a nearby Border Patrol agent who stormed the building, made his way to the classroom, and killed the shooter to end the tragedy.
Additionally, a group of 17 other people sustained injury throughout the mass shooting that has now claimed the title of the worst shooting in the history of the state.
Kinzinger also seemed to agree with the idea of moving to ban all AR-15s while being interviewed, making the claim that he is “definitely ready to engage in that conversation.”
On possibility of banning AR-15s, GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that he’s “definitely ready to engage in that conversation.”
"I’m focused on saving life now.” https://t.co/uMF1D41jSI pic.twitter.com/F7YRXNf7mO
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022
When questioned about his evolving views on firearms, Kinzinger made reference to being just entirely exhausted by the mass shootings taking place across America.
“I’m a strong defender of the Second Amendment,” Kinzinger stated to Karl. “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.”
This tragic mass shooting took place just one short week after the shooting that occurred out in Buffalo, New York, which resulted in the deaths of over ten people. Those events have created a sizable and bipartisan group of senators to talk about different forms of gun control legislation in response.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated to the assembled reporters that he met alongside Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this past week and tried to encourage other senators to come together to discover or create any potential solutions.
“I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that’s directly related to the facts of this awful massacre,” claimed McConnell.
In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, Kinzinger has been seen being the most vocal of Republicans to try and speak out in favor of new gun laws. The Republican from Illinois has also held a seat on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) select House Committee that carried out the investigation of the January 6th events.
He also held a spot as one of just 10 GOP House members to vote to officially impeach former President Donald Trump in the wake of the events on January 6th at the Capitol Building.