Repeater
Regular Member
Doesn't matter that he is retiring; this is wrong:
Rigell on guns: No Fly, No Buy
But, aren't the lists highly inaccurate?
Why is he doing this to us?
Does he even care what we think?
Rigell on guns: No Fly, No Buy
Retiring U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell is front-and-center in a new push to deny gun purchases to people on the U.S. government's No Fly List.
Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, announced his version of this legislation Friday with three colleagues from both sides of the aisle. The four men said they hope a groundswell of public pressure will convince GOP leadership in the House to bring the bill up for a vote.
Rigell, who said he met with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's chief of staff shortly after the press conference, promised "continuous" pressure on members of his own party.
"If someone represents such a threat that we don't want them on a plane, why in the world would we let them go in and buy a gun?" Rigell asked during the Washington, D.C., press conference, which was broadcast online.
But, aren't the lists highly inaccurate?
Rigell said he's been briefed in secret by federal officials and that he has high confidence in the lists, despite some high-profile glitches in the past.
"I'm personally convinced ... that the accuracy of that list is extremely high," Rigell said Friday.
Why is he doing this to us?
Rigell said he hopes that, when Congress comes back from its break on July 5, Republicans won't "hunker down" against gun legislation and say, 'we're not going to reward the Democrats' behavior."
Rigell said Friday he's open to suggestions on the bill, but he believes it's common-sense and should represent common ground for members of both political parties. He said he hopes feedback from constituents and individual members of Congress will amount to more than the NRA's influence, and lead to a vote.
"If we do nothing, I think that we have failed," he said. "There's been a moral failure."
A former Marine, Rigell said he's a life member of the NRA and that he owns 10 guns, including an AR-15, the rifle used in the Orlando mass shooting. This is not the first time he's run afoul of gun rights groups, though. In 2013 he sponsored legislation to increase penalties on straw purchasers – people who resell guns to people who can't pass background checks.
Does he even care what we think?
"The vilification that I experienced, it was very instructive.... of just what's wrong in our country," Rigell said Friday.
After five years in office, Rigell isn't seeking re-election this year. His district leans Republican, making any gun control measure a potential political liability. The congressman said Friday that he would back this bill even if he was running for re-election.
"Unequivocally," he said.