During a discussion on MSNBC centered on gun controls that might be pushed post-Minneapolis shooting, The Trace reporter Mike Spies suggested bans that would include handguns.
The Trace is an online pro-gun control outlet.
Spies was in a round table with MSNBC’s Katy Tur, who said, “The majority of Americans don’t own guns and the majority of Americans want stricter gun laws.”
Tur did not offer any substantiation for her claims, nor did she mention that the number of firearms in civilian possession topped 490 million as of 2022.
Nevertheless, Spies concurred with Tur’s claims, then said, in part, “I do think there’s a lack of knowledge among lawmakers, and I think, like, the same playbook has been in force since background checks were first introduced in the 90s and the ‘assault weapons’ ban. We always go back to those things.”
Spies talked about red flag laws for a bit, noting aspects of the laws he does not like, and then he said, “You have to be honest, and say what will actually work, which is what nobody wants to hear, which is that there are just simply way too many firearms, and they are way too accessible.”
Tur interjected, “And they’re way too powerful?”
Spies echoed, “And they’re too powerful, even handguns too, again, that’s why in Australia … The only thing that really works, if you really wanted to bring down gun violence, was to do what Australia did and to do what many other countries in Europe do.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
