Evangelical Romney Adviser Calls for Gun Control in Aftermath of School Shooting
Mark DeMoss, known in political circles as one of Mitt Romney's top evangelical advisers and a longtime supporter is now calling for gun control on the heels of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead.
"I'm a conservative and a Republican, and I believe in the Constitution and all of the amendments. But the reality is, there are restrictions on lots of our freedoms," DeMoss told Politico on Saturday. "We cherish the freedom of speech, but it doesn't give you the right to yell 'fire' in a crowded theater."
He contends that legislation to limit gun control would not necessarily infringe on constitutional liberties many believe are protected by the second amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
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"I have trouble defending a position that says there should be no restrictions on any guns or ammunition, and this slippery slope argument that if you allow the slightest bit of [gun] control, then that's the start of taking away all our freedoms."
"Somebody's got to break ranks on one side or the other, it seems to me, and talk in a rational and thoughtful way, which will probably come with great risk to whoever does that," he said. "I imagine a Republican who speaks on this will probably be opposed in their next election."
DeMoss, who for years has lead one of the nation's leading public relations firms from his offices outside of Atlanta, Ga., may be right in his assessment that Republicans who advocate gun control will be punished at the ballot box.
A poll taken by Gallup in 2011 points out that 54 percent of Americans believe the sale of firearms should be less stringent than they are today. Interestingly and in 1991, only 19 percent of Americans felt the same way.
But a brand new Gallup poll released on Sunday and just two days after the Sandy Hook school shooting showed only 44 percent of Americans want gun laws to be stricter, virtually unchanged since 2010.
Rep. Susan Lynn, a Republican state representative in Tennessee, feels strongly that legislators should be pressured into weakening gun laws in the wake of several nationwide shootings.
"I would absolutely reject any legislative attempt to tighten gun control law in Tennessee," Lynn told The Christian Post. "People need to be able to protect themselves from someone like this young man. If those inside the school were allowed to have a gun then maybe the tragedy in Connecticut could have been prevented.
"The other tragedy is when citizens of a state are not allowed to protect themselves. Whenever handguns are restricted from law-abiding citizens, you see the crime rate go up."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who by reputation is one of the senate's most liberal members, vowed Sunday to introduce a bill to ban assault weapons as soon as Congress begins their new session in January.
"I'm going to introduce in the Senate and the same bill will be introduced in the House, a bill to ban assault weapons," Feinstein said on NBC's "Meet the Press" during a discussion about guns following Friday's deadly mass shooting at the Connecticut elementary school. "It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession. Not retroactively but prospectively. And it will ban the same for big clips, drums or strips of more than 10 bullets."
"So there will be a bill. We've been working on it now for a year."
