AOC Blames McConnell & NRA for NYPD Shootings

The congresswoman later replied on Twitter, writing, “This is not my district, but our thoughts are with all officers & people impacted by this shooting & the epidemic of gun violence in this country.”

“Perhaps you would get less mixed up if McConnell stood up to the NRA & passed common-sense gun safety measures to reduce shootings,” she added.

This is not my district, but our thoughts are with all officers & people impacted by this shooting & the epidemic of gun violence in this country.

Perhaps you would get less mixed up if McConnell stood up to the NRA & passed common-sense gun safety measures to reduce shootings.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 9, 2020

According to her House website, the “common-sense” gun reform she supports includes universal background checks and a ban on “assault weapons,” high capacity magazines and bump stocks.

News to AOC: Current law prevents Williams, a former felon, from purchasing or possessing firearms.

What makes you think more laws would have prevented him from doing what he did?

According to the NRA, New York state already has strict laws regarding owning or possessing a handgun.

They include requiring a permit to purchase and carry the gun. Further, the weapon must be registered.

You know, instead of training children, teachers, houses of faith, & concertgoers to prep for being shot, we could just:

-Pass Universal Background checks (#HR8!)
-Disarm domestic abusers
-Mandate safe storage
-Ban bump stocks, semiautos, & high cap mags designed to kill people https://t.co/5SaLxEfYBT

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 22, 2019

Police have not reported how Williams obtained his gun, but it is almost certain enacting a universal background check law would not have prevented it.

All licensed gun dealers currently are required by federal law to perform a background check before selling a firearm.

Gun-control advocates like Ocasio-Cortez have called for universal background checks, which would also cover the sale or transfer of guns between private individuals.

So friends or other private individuals trying to give or sell their firearms to each other would have to perform a background check, most likely through a gun dealer.

The congresswoman co-sponsored House Resolution 8, which passed in a vote mostly along party lines last year, calling for universal background checks.

The measure has not been taken up by the Senate.

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw described the legislation as “a pretty big overreach” into the area of Americans’ Second Amendment rights and wondered what good it would do.

He noted that if H.R. 8 became law, many of the highest-profile shootings — “Parkland, or Sutherland Springs, or the Thousand Oaks tragedy or Sandy Hook” — would not have been prevented.

A 2019 Department of Justice study based on a survey of nearly 300,000 prison inmates found 43 percent obtained their gun through the black market. An additional 7 percent reported they found it a the scene of the crime, while 6 percent said they stole it.

Meanwhile, 25 percent said they obtained it from a family member or friend or as a gift.

Only 1.3 percent said they purchased it from a retail source and 0.8 percent stated they bought it at a gun show.