He said none of the mass shootings could have been stopped by stricter gun laws. The WaPo says he's correct! Full assessment @
Marco Rubio’s claim that no recent mass shootings would have been prevented by gun laws
Stopped? No. They'd have come at people with knives, shotguns, handguns, etc. The trick is that fewer people would have been killed. Active shooter incidents end quickly in most scenarios. The more bullets the shooter can shoot in that incident, the more people get hurt.
I'm actually surprised that we're having this debate at all though. One idiot tries to blow up his shoe and I have to carry liquids in small containers on planes. Two terrorists shoot up California and we're kicking around a complete immigration ban. Why aren't we talking about the fact that there are radicalized folks here, in the States, now, that can legally buy assault weapons with very little in the way of restrictions or oversight. How more attacks like those at the Planned Parenthood or in California aren't occurring now is a mystery.
because most of your fellow citizens aren't either crazy or indoctrinated extremist assholes. contrary to the belief of most progressives, who see anyone besides a member of government who is armed as a "threat".
But there is a segment of the population that are motivated either by hysteria (the Planned Parenthood shooter), mental illness (Sandy Hook), anarchy (the folks taking potshots at the police), or radicalization (The San Bernadino Shooters). Those folks will always find a way to hurt people. I'd just like it not to be as efficient to do so.
There's another thing I don't get here: Why do you need an assault weapon? Honestly?
I can defend my home from an intruder just fine with a shotgun or handgun. I can do just as well with a baseball bat given I know the layout and angles to ambush an intruder, armed or not). Most folks don't carry assault weapons to hunt either. If I have fear for my personal safety I can get a concealed carry permit for a handgun as a pretty practical solution.
So what's the assault weapon for? Rising up against the government? Because if you did try to rise up with just an assault rifle you'd be drone struck before you even knew the drone was there. Any successful uprising won't turn on assault weapons. It'll succeed through convincing portions of the Military to come over the side of the rebels and bring their armored units, bombers, or drone strike units.