Brooks Still Supports 2nd Amendment, After Shooting

Rep. Mo Brooks said his views on guns in America have not changed with respect to the Second Amendment gun rights in an interview Wednesday morning following a shooting in which five people were shot, including Majority Whip Steve Scalise. The Alabama Republican described the shooting as “the bad side effects of someone not exercising those rights properly,” but said it would not change his stance on this or any of the constitutional provisions in the Bill of Rights. Previously Brooks has opposed restrictions on the right to bear arms and was a co-sponsor of the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act, legislation that would relax restrictions on cross-state gun sales, along with Scalise, who introduced the measure in 2015. Brooks added, before he responded further, “With respect to this particular shooter, I’d really like to know more about him—whether he was an ex-felon, by way of example, who should not have had possession of a firearm—I’d like to know other things about his background.”