GOP Senator Calls for ‘Idiot Control’ Over More Gun Laws After NYC Shooting, But Admits ‘I Don’t Know Exactly How To Do That’
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) called for “more idiot control” over new gun laws following a New York City shooting that left four dead, including an NYPD officer.
Kennedy joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday evening after the shooting at 345 Park Avenue, Manhattan. The shooting suspect, who turned the gun on himself following shooting and killing four people and injuring a fifth, has been identified as 27-year-old Las Vegas man Shane Tamura. The suspect reportedly used a Palmetto State Armory AR-15 rifle.
Kennedy predicted “inevitable” calls for more gun control laws, but argued that gun control laws already on the books in cities like New York do little to stop mass shootings.
The senator said:
I’m sorry for the civilians who were killed or injured. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people. I don’t. If I make it to heaven, I’m going to ask. I’m sorry for the police officers who were killed or injured. I’m also thankful for those who ran to the danger and away from it. I’m grateful for them. And I’m sorry for the people of New York, this is going to cause them to have to live in further fear. On Capitol Hill, probably beginning in the morning, there will be the inevitable call by some of my colleagues for more gun control laws. We’ve got hundreds of gun control law, Sean.
Hannity noted New York has a “majority” of those gun control laws, citing his time in the city.
“We don’t need more gun control, we need more idiot control,” Kennedy said. “And I don’t know exactly how to do that.”
Kennedy then pivoted to the shooter himself, saying he will not entertain anyone trying to argue for sympathy for the shooter.
“I don’t want to hear anyone feeling sorry for this guy who did this. And there will be some that say, well, he was mixed up. He was confused. He was just sick. His mom or daddy didn’t love him enough. All that may be true. But from the bottom of my heart, I don’t care. I believe there’s objective evil in this world, and we saw it today, and I’m just sorry,” Kennedy said.
The senator later called for “idiot control” again and made one suggestion: the return of New York City’s controversial “stop and frisk” laws, which allows police officers more authority to detain and question individuals they feel could be guilty of a crime. The practice received plenty of pushback from civil rights groups, but Kennedy argued it could be one way to combat potential shootings. Kennedy called for a “more aggressive” version of stop and frisk.
“What you allow is what will continue. And police aren’t perfect,” the senator said. “But they separate — they are the only distance between us and whack jobs like this guy who killed these innocent people today.”
Watch above via Fox News.
