Major Murdoch-owned tabloid calls for assault weapons ban
The New York Post is calling for an assault weapons ban. The tabloid, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and has a right-leaning editorial page, has a front-page headline Monday saying, "Ban Weapons of War."
The editorial follows the weekend mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that left at least 29 people dead and dozens injured.
It also comes in a politically charged atmosphere in which leading Democrats, including many 2020 presidential contenders, are blaming President Trump's rhetoric for fanning the flames of far-right violence and citing Republican Senate leaders for blocking gun control legislation.
The suspect in the El Paso shooting wrote an essay he posted online expressing white supremacist views.
The Post's front page headline is preceded by the newspaper saying, "President Trump: America is scared and we need bold action."
The editorial says, "America is terrified."
It calls on Mr. Trump and Congress to, "Come up with answers. Now. Beginning with the return of an assault-weapons ban.
"We know: That label doesn't actually describe a clear class of guns. And that some studies show that the last ban, in effect from 1994 to 2004, had a limited impact. But that simply means the next ban should be better written, with a clear definition focused on factors like firepower — rate of fire, muzzle velocity, etc. — not on cosmetic features.
"The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to own "guns in common use." That doesn't cover the semiautomatic weapons regularly used only in mass shootings."
It adds that, "This ban would only be part of the response: Keep improving background checks, find wiser approaches to mental health, get every state to pass a red-flag law (do a federal one, too, even if issuing these restraining orders is mainly the job of state courts)."