Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) criticized the “easy availability” of AR-15s during a Senate hearing on the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Hirono questioned FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. Asked Identify the type of firearm used in the assassination attempt.
Abbate indicated it was an AR-15-style rifle manufactured by Panther Arms.
Hirono then claimed the US is a “country full of guns.”
She then focused on AR-style rifles, asking, “Shouldn’t more be done to make sure these types of firearms are not easily available in our country?”
Abbate declined to weigh in on the gun control debate, saying he was “focused on gathering facts.”
This is awful. Democrats are turning this into an anti-gun witch hunt, trying to demonize tools instead of people.
Someone tried to assassinate a former president. That should be the focus of this hearing. Period. pic.twitter.com/l2Ws5N1JOI
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) July 30, 2024
Hirono expressed disappointment that Abbate did not join the gun control debate, saying “easy access to guns is an issue for many people in our country.”
She then repeated her earlier comments, describing America as a country “full of guns.”
Hirono later added that “we are not doing enough to promote gun safety in our country.”
Breitbart News reported that Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat) also criticized the “easy availability of AR-15 rifles” during the Senate hearing.
Neither Durbin nor Hirono mentioned the fact that the AR-15 used in the assassination attempt was “purchased legally,” meaning it was obtained through a background check at a retail store.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the author and curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is a political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the Global Marketing Director for Lone Star Hunts. He was a visiting scholar at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and earned his PhD in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: FollowYou can subscribe to Downrange at breitbart.com/downrange . To contact me directly, please email awrhawkins@breitbart.com
