Calif. senator calls for stronger gun controls
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer called Tuesday for the nation to adopt more stringent regulations governing who can obtain permits for concealed weapons.
The move by the California Democrat was prompted by Saturday's shooting in Arizona that left six people dead and 14 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, injured.
Boxer said states such as Arizona that don't screen people who want to carry concealed weapons aren't protecting their citizens. She wants to see an expansion of California's policy requiring law enforcement to approve such permits.
"I think a law like that ought to be federalized," Boxer said at a news conference at the Riverside County district attorney's office.
One way to exert pressure for passage would be to withdraw criminal justice grants from states that don't draft such rules, she said.
Arizona law allows any U.S. citizen 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon.
Boxer acknowledged that getting Democrats and Republicans to agree on gun laws wasn't easy. Still, she hoped they could make headway on another proposal by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., to ban high-capacity ammunition clips like the one linked to the shooting.
"Maybe we can come together just on the sale of those clips," she said.
Lautenberg has said he would introduce a measure to re-establish a prohibition that lapsed in 2004 on clips that feed more than 10 rounds at a time.
The influential National Rifle Association generally opposes attempts to limit the manufacture and sale of guns.
Calif. senator calls for stronger gun controls
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Also:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...-giffords.html