Joe Manchin: 'It's Time' For Gun Control Debate

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), one of the strongest backers of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the Democratic Party, said it is time to sit down and have a "sensible, reasonable" debate about gun control in light of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., and expressed an openness to banning assault weapons.

"It's time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have a common-sense discussion and move in a reasonable way. ... Everything has to be on the table," Manchin said in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, adding that he had just come from deer hunting with his family.

Manchin's comments are significant because he has an "A" rating from the NRA for his pro-gun positions, and the organization endorsed him as recently as October 2012.

"Joe Manchin is committed to protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms guaranteed to all Americans," NRA Chairman Chris Cox said.

Manchin also appears to be the first senator with an "A" rating from the NRA to go on national television in the wake of the Newtown shooting. On Sunday, David Gregory of NBC's "Meet the Press" said all 31 "pro-gun rights" senators in the new Congress turned down his request to appear on the show. CBS's "Face the Nation" said it ran into a similar problem. Manchin spokeswoman Emily Bittner told The Huffington Post their office had no record of "Meet the Press" reaching out to interview the senator on Sunday.

In Monday's interview, Manchin was critical of assault rifles, saying no hunter needs a weapon like that, although he didn't explicitly say he would back Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) ban on such weapons, which she has said she will introduce in the new year.

"I don't know anyone who in the hunting or sporting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. I don't know anybody that needs 30 rounds in the clip to go hunting," Manchin said. "I mean, these are things that need to be talked about."

While the NRA has always opposed such a ban in the past, Manchin said he believed the nature of the tragedy in Newtown changed the landscape.

"What's happened -- it's always been to the point when once you open it up, pretty soon you'll give up your whole Second Amendment rights, taking guns away and people not allowed to have guns. That's not what this should be about," Manchin said. "Millions and millions of people are proud gun owners, and they do it responsibly and by the law. So I think opening up and seeing the massacre of so many innocent children, it's changed. It's changed America. We've never seen this happen."

Manchin also said, however, that the NRA should have a seat at the table during the gun control debate.

"What I want to do is I want to call all our friends in the NRA and sit down and have this -- bring them into it," he added. "They have to be at the table."

• Category

  News & Politics

[nillehessy]

we need more guns much more guns more guns we need more guns much more

guns we need more guns much more guns we need more guns much more

we have to have more and more guns

[steve krauss]

the 2nd amendment is not about hunting. if you didnt hunt back then you starved. if you want to take back your schools put armed guards in them.

[Khalil Reid]

star dust why are you turning this around.

[ChampionBass198]

The senate will be voting on Pressure cookers next week. Please vote no on pressure cookers. NO MORE MUTTEN!

[swannavon]

Yeah, right on! Let's ALL be armed and dangerous!

[Star Dust]

Manchin, if you really care about childern, what different if our babies are being killed by guns or having their spinal cord cut in abortion? Do not be two faced or a knife in WV people's back.This is about dictatorship, if you want that then WV do not need you. You will never hold another government office again and we will see to that. If you want islamic and sharia laws, please pack your bags and go to Egypt.We are the underground railroad for freedom , remember that...

[sjr341]

Manchin's a hypocrite and a liar and will NEVER win re-election

[aerhearts]

What we need is to eliminate the gun free zones that the vast majority of mass murderers are done in. We need to allow teachers, school staff, and mature college students, who have the training and are willing to conceal carry guns to do so. And we need to increase detection and treatment for people with Mental Health issues. Also we need to investigate the affects SSRI drugs have in increasing violence and suicides.

We have many out of work Veterans that would be great guards in our schools.

[aerhearts]

The problem isn't really guns, it's mentally ill people, it's the dismantled and largely nonexistent Mental Health System - that's no longer there to properly treat and/or house the seriously mentally ill people that end up doing these horrendous acts of violence. We also need tighter monitoring and controls on psychotropic drugs like SSRIs, which cause violent and suicidal tendencies in many people. Let's work on addressing the root of the problem instead of going after a tool.