Rep. Carolyn McCarthy says more must be done to keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals

On the April 18, 2007, episode of MSNBC's program Tucker, Tucker Carlson interviewed McCarthy about the Virginia Tech massacre and her proposed reauthorization of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He asked her to explain the need to regulate barrel shrouds, one of the many provisions included in her bill. She did not directly answer as she had no clue what she was even talking about, so instead she responded that what was more important was that the legislation would ban large capacity "clips" (sic) of the type used in the Virginia Tech massacre and that the class of guns chosen prohibited by the law were those used by gangs and killers of police officers. The Virginia Tech shooter did not have high capacity magazines; they were the AWB compliant 10 round variety, once again showing her general lack of knowledge on the subject. When Carlson pressed her twice more on the question about barrel shrouds, she finally admitted that she did not know what a barrel shroud was, and said (incorrectly): "I believe it is a shoulder thing that goes up." The error received negative attention from the conservative media and made for a hilarious video online.

McCarthy introduced (H.R. 2640, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007) to remedy this problem. The bill, with the support of the National Rifle Association, was passed by the House and signed by President Bush.

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We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans' Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements--like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole--so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.

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