One Republican congressman has claimed that raising the age for Americans to buy a firearm to 21 years old is a “no-brainer.”
Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger made the statement during an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
“I think that raising the minimum age of gun purchases to 21 is a no-brainer,” Kinzinger stated.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that raising minimum age for gun purchases to 21 “is a no brainer" to him.
“If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21.” https://t.co/Ndo3NsrFp7 pic.twitter.com/mBpxDBiyJF
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022
“If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21. We know that the human brain develops and matures a lot between the ages of 18 and 21. We just raised, without really so much as a blink, the age of purchasing cigarettes federally to 21. I think we need to get there eventually,” he added.
The remarks come days after a Tuesday shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. The shooter was killed by a Border Patrol officer who stormed the classroom to end the tragedy.
In addition, 17 other people were injured during the mass shooting that has become the worst in the state’s history.
Kinzinger also agreed with the possibility of banning AR-15s during the interview, claiming he’s “definitely ready to engage in that conversation.”
On possibility of banning AR-15s, GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that he’s “definitely ready to engage in that conversation.”
"I’m focused on saving life now.” https://t.co/uMF1D41jSI pic.twitter.com/F7YRXNf7mO
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022
When asked about his changing views on guns, Kinzinger referred to growing tired of mass shootings in America.
“I’m a strong defender of the Second Amendment,” Kinzinger told Karl. “And one of the things I believe that for some reason is a very rare thing is that as a person that appreciates and believes in the Second Amendment, we have to be the ones putting forward reasonable solutions to gun violence.”
The tragic shooting occurred just a week after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, that killed ten people. The events have led a bipartisan group of senators to discuss potential gun reform legislation in response.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters he met with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this week and encouraged senators to collaborate on potential solutions.
“I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that’s directly related to the facts of this awful massacre,” McConnell said.
After the Uvalde school shooting, Kinzinger has been among the most vocal Republicans to speak out for new gun laws. The Illinois Republican has also served on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) select House committee to investigate the events of January 6.
He was also one of ten GOP House members to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump following the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Kinzinger also announced in October that he would not run for reelection following the state’s new redistricting maps.