Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who served under former President George W. Bush (2005-2007), has joined forces with those calling for discussion on a ban of AR-15-style rifles, in the wake of last week's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which led to the deaths of 19 children and two adults.
As a guest on CNN Tuesday, Gonzales referred to AR-15s as "killing machines" and supported President Joe Biden's comment from Monday, when suggesting there was "no rational basis" for owning such a weapon.
On the flip side, Gonzales admitted that a complete ban on AR-15s seemed unlikely with legislators.
Gonzales didn't have any response to President Biden's other big comment from Monday: "The Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute."
According to reports, Republicans and Democrats have established preliminary talks about gun reform, for which Gonzales says it's "possible we might get some movement" on certain components.
Among the ideas that might gain traction, from Gonzales' perspective: raising the minimum age for buying a gun to 21, and introducing more restrictive measures with pre-purchase background checks.
"No matter what it is with respect to assault weapons or any other kind of weapon, you have millions of these weapons already in the hands of gun owners in this country. So there are limitations," said Gonzales.
The Uvalde shooting suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, opened fire on a single classroom at Robb Elementary.
According to the Daily Mail, Ramos used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, which he had legally purchased just days before last week's attack, and shortly after his 18th birthday.
During the shooting, a border patrol agent reportedly rushed into the school and found Ramos barricaded, according to a sourced report from The Associated Press.
The agent then fatally shot Ramos before leaving the school, citing the AP report.
To enact sweeping changes to any established constitutional law, overcoming the Senate filibuster currently requires a 60-vote threshold.
As such, it might not matter that the Democrats control the Senate and House chambers by small margins, along with the White House (President Biden).
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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