Brian Mast is the Republican Congressman representing FL-18. Obama lost the district to Romney by 4 points, and Hillary lost it to Trump by 9 points. Mast is also an Afghan War vet, where he lost both of his legs and a finger after stepping on an IED. He is also an NRA member.
In the New York Times, he says:
I’m Republican. I Appreciate Assault Weapons. And I Support a Ban.
I have fired tens of thousands of rounds through that rifle, many in combat. We used it because it was the most lethal — the best for killing our enemies. And I know that my community, our schools and public gathering places are not made safer by any person having access to the best killing tool the Army could put in my hands. I cannot support the primary weapon I used to defend our people being used to kill children I swore to defend. ….
I conceal and carry a 9-millimeter pistol most days because I know the threats, and I don’t want to die because I am unprepared to return fire.
I also know that I am made less safe by the threat of tactical rifles. I am confident I can eliminate an active shooter who is attacking with a pistol because the attacker would have to be close to me. But the defense my concealed 9-millimeter affords me is largely gone if the attacker is firing from beyond 40 yards, as he could easily do with the AR-15. ….
The Second Amendment is unimpeachable. It guarantees the right of citizens to defend themselves. I accept, however, that it does not guarantee that every civilian can bear any and all arms.
For example, the purchase of fully automatic firearms is largely banned already, and I cannot purchase an AT-4 rocket, grenades, a Bradley fighting vehicle or an Abrams tank. I know that no single action can prevent a truly determined person from committing mass murder, and I am aware of other ways to commit mass murder, such as bombings and mass vehicular slaughter. Not being able to control everything, however, should not prevent us from doing something.
So now he supports banning the AR-15 and other similarly defined assault weapons. He also now supports improving background checks and banning add-ons and accessories that make a gun that much deadlier, and prohibiting people with mental illness or on the terrorist watch list from buying any guns. He doesn’t name it explicitly, but it also sounds like he’s for repealing the Dickey Amendment to let the CDC fund research into gun violence.
Now, is what he’s proposing enough for those of us on the left? No. But this is someone who’s gotten money from the NRA in the past, and had an 86% rating from the NRA. For HIM to be saying these things that the NRA very much opposes is quite a remarkable sea change in a very short period of time.
Oh, the times, they are a-changin’.
Update: BTW, another former Florida Republican, Joe Scarborough, made a very good point on Friday’s show about letting Americans know that it’s the gun manufacturing CEOs who get richer and richer after every mass shooting, and that their sole purpose is to get us to buy more guns, all the time.
Did you ever think you’d hear a former Republican Congressman from Florida say our focus needs to be on the people who are profiting off of mass murder? Essentially, follow the money.