Ex-CIA Director Demands That Congress Bans Semiautomatic Weapons

Following the Florida school shooting this week, John Brennan has demanded that Congress “must act now” to block access to semiautomatic weapons.

The former-CIA chief has called on Congress to revamp its gun laws saying it was imperative to address the “scourge of gun violence in the US.

In a tweet on Thursday he said: “Having worked international counterterrorism for much of my career, it is imperative that we devote equal energy and effort to addressing the scourge of gun violence in our country….Congress needs to act now to prevent access to semiautomatic weapons that kill innocents.”

His tweet comes as Democrats step up their calls for the US president and Congress to take tougher legislative action against guns.

Since the expiration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, US citizens have been entitled to purchase semiautomatic weapons (defined as assault weapons that fire a single bullet with each squeeze of the trigger), and magazines that carry no more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

On Tuesday, Nikolas Cruz, 19, killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. There are reportedly several million such rifles in circulation in the United States.

Given the relatively inexpensive price for an AR-15, which starts at around $600 dollars and can rise to several thousand dollars, depending on the features, the firearm is a popular seller among gun enthusiasts.

Brennan’s comments added fuel to the flames of the gun debate in the US as Republicans, with the full support of the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), refuse to back down on any legislation that they believe would infringe on the Second Amendment right to own a firearm.

Almost a year ago to the day of the Florida shooting, Trump blocked an Obama-era piece of regulation that would have given the FBI information about prospective gun buyers who are receiving disability benefits due to mental illness. In other words, all gun applicants who pass the criminal background check are eligible to buy a firearm.

The NRA and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued that no regulations should be placed on people with mental illnesses, since that would be a violation of their Second Amendment rights without due process.