CT Senate Candidates Reflect on Gun Laws in Aftermath of Colorado Shooting

Just days after last week’s mass shooting at a movie theater in Colorado, Chris Murphy and Susan Bysiewicz–the two Democrats running for U.S. Senate from Connecticut–issued a call for tougher gun laws, including restoring the federal ban on assault rifles.

The two Republicans campaigning for the seat–Linda McMahon and Christopher Shays–had a  different response. Shays, a former Congressman who voted for assault rifle ban, now tells Roll Call that he “couldn’t defend” his vote.

McMahon, the former CEO of WWE who has never held elective office, cautioned against the temptation to ban “certain legal firearms in the face of criminal acts.”

“I have always been a supporter of the 2^nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” McMahon said in a statement issued by her campaign this morning. 

“When horrific crimes occur as we have witnessed in Colorado, it is tempting for politicians to react by banning certain legal firearms in the face of criminal acts. It is clear from the growing evidence that this deranged individual would have found a way to wreak his havoc, no matter what the laws said.”

“Nonetheless,” McMahon added, “I agree with President Obama, who says that we should enforce the gun laws currently on the books.”