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AZ Senate Democrat Wants to Ban High Capacity Gun Magazines

Mika Järvinen

Assistant Minority Leader Linda Lopez said Adam Lanza had a rifle with a 30-round capacity when he killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

She said James Holmes, accused of last year's killings at an Aurora, Colo. movie theater also had a high-capacity magazine. And, closer to home, Jared Loughner outfitted his pistol with a high-capacity clip before killing six in Tucson in 2011 and seriously wounding Gabrielle Giffords. Her measure would make it a crime to sell a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds.

"My goal is to get those off the street. I don't think anybody needs a weapon of war on the street here in Arizona," Lopez said.

But National Rifle Association board member Todd Rathner said he believes the Constitution entitles civilians to possess the same kind of weapons as what the average military person carries.

"And they've got to be able to load to the same capacity as the average military person. Why? Because the Second Amendment is about repelling a tyrannical government, not about hunting," Rathner said.

Lopez' proposal would not require those who already have a high-capacity magazine to sell it. But it would make it a crime for Arizonans to bring them back from states where they would remain legal.

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