While answering questions at his town hall in Estero, Florida, on Monday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) was asked about gun policy and defended gun rights.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00And they won't get it up or down, but we need a appropriations process.
00:04Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to have to ask everybody.
00:07It's all right. I got it. So, let's go. I got it.
00:12John Calviano from Naples. John.
00:15John, where you at?
00:17Yeah.
00:18Oh, hey John, how you doing?
00:20John. This is on firearms, so nobody's going to be able to say you think you're too red out of the game, right?
00:25Okay. So, firearms.
00:27Yeah.
00:28Do you support the right of citizens to own any type of weapon?
00:32A flamethrower was displayed for sale at the animal gun range in Naples.
00:36Is there any limit to the expansion of legal weapons in your mind?
00:45So, specifically to a flamethrower, I'd actually have to look at federal law.
00:50I think if you wanted to buy one, I'm calling this to support.
00:53If you wanted to buy one, there are extended background checks that you have to go through with ATM.
00:59That's federal law right now.
01:01And so, I think there's a misconception about what federal law allows.
01:05It does not allow.
01:07I think if you're talking about an RPG, a Leo Flamethrower, things of that nature, most, virtually, most Americans wouldn't even be allowed to promote that purchase under the way that we're doing it right now.
01:21Hold on, sir. Don't worry about talking about this question right now.
01:24Now, to the other part of the question.
01:26What about restrictions?
01:27Because I think somebody yelled out about universal background checks.
01:30Here's the truth for people who don't know who may not like it.
01:34We already have, quote unquote, universal background checks today.
01:39You cannot go to a federally licensed firearm dealer and not go through a background check to buy a firearm.
01:46You cannot. You cannot.
01:49If you're talking about what happens if you have to do a personal, a private party sale, the example I always give is, I have a son.
01:56He's 21 years old. He graduates college in democracy.
01:59I have firearms.
02:00If I make a decision as a father to sell my gun to my son, that is a personal decision I've made as an adult to my son who is also an adult.
02:10If we're going to talk about the real issue we're concerned about, FSC was wrong.
02:16That was a parent's gun.
02:19The real issue, the real issue there, and let's examine two of those things.
02:24Number one, based upon the early information from Florida State, the shooter took the parent's gun.
02:31Took the gun.
02:33That's a violation of the law.
02:35You're not allowed to do that.
02:37You're not allowed to take somebody else's firearm.
02:40What you're talking about with these mass shootings are not the weapon itself.
02:44They're talking about the mental health of the shooter.
02:47That's what we're talking about.
02:50And if we're going to be honest, if we're going to be intellectually honest, if we're going to be intellectually honest, what we should be doing is examining the mental health of the shooter.
03:03You're not taking away with the constitutional rights of citizens.
03:07Every citizen, every citizen of the United States is afforded by the Second Amendment of our Constitution.
03:15It is a God-given right.
03:17It is not a government-given right to possess and hold a fire.
03:20That is a right to hold.
03:22This is one of the reasons, this is one of the reasons, this is one of the reasons, this is one of the reasons why in 2019, 2018, 2019, this is one of the reasons why I oppose the Marjory Stoneman Douglas bill.
03:40Because red flag laws, in my opinion, are a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
03:47Because you do not want to be processed.
03:50The government comes in and takes your property, and then you have to go and get an adjudicator.
03:55That's one of the reasons I voted against the bill.
03:57The better question is, the better question is how many children are saved?
04:04How many children are saved?
04:07Because if you don't examine what happened at FSU, as tragic as the shooting was that occurred, and I went to FSU.
04:13It's my own honor.
04:15My son is slated to go to FSU.
04:18He got accepted.
04:19He's slated to go.
04:20And what actually occurred at FSU, if we're going to be honest, obviously there is a mental health issue with the shooter.
04:26He stole a weapon from his parents.
04:29And it was law enforcement on the ground at FSU that stopped that thing from being far more tragic.
04:35And let's be very clear, when law enforcement comes on the scene, they are not just waiting.
04:41They are not just waiting.
04:43When law enforcement goes on the scene, they all show up with a sling and a rock.
04:50They're not showing up with just pepper spray.
04:53When law enforcement is on the scene, they show up with firearms.
04:57And in the times when law enforcement engaged the shooter directly, human lives were saved.
05:03In the times when they were not evolving, Marjorie Stone and Douglas, we saw more tragedy.
05:09So I like to look at these things realistically.
05:12Number one, Second Amendment rights will always be protected.
05:16They will always be protected.
05:19Number two, law enforcement, when they are following training, are supposed to engage these shooters
05:26immediately.
05:27Not waiting.
05:28That's what's going on.
05:30And number three, and let's be clear, we're in one of those facilities right now.
05:39And this is a facility for minors.
05:42And you will never hear me say that minors should own firearms.
05:46I will never say that because they are minors.
05:48I got sex.
05:49Are you kidding me?
05:50I won't do that.
05:51However, let's be clear.
05:52Gun-free zones are the targets of these mass shooters.
05:53That is crystal clear.
05:54Because these mass shooters just don't show up any of us.
05:55They go to places where they know that there is a vulnerable population.
05:56And then we have to rely on the men and women in blue to step in.
05:57And our hope is they step in immediately to address these mass shooters.
05:58But it all goes back to the mental health of the perpetrator.
06:05They go to places where they know that there is a vulnerable population.
06:09And then we have to rely on the men and women in blue to step in.
06:13And our hope is they step in immediately to address these mass shootings.
06:18But it all goes back to the mental health of the perpetrator.
06:22If you want a real solution, how about we do all the necessary work to help people either find their mental health needs
06:31and more aggressive mental health needs so we can have a safer community for ourselves and for our children.
06:39That's the solution.
06:44Terry Gray from Wittles. Terry Gray Wittles. Terry?