Pro-gun Sen. Joe Manchin calls for "action" on gun violence

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on "Face the Nation," Sunday, November 20, 2011. / CBS/Chris Usher

In the aftermath of the massacre that left 20 children dead in Newtown, Connecticut, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association -- is pushing the NRA to open up a "common sense" discussion about gun laws.

"It's time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have a common-sense discussion and move in a reasonable way," Manchin said this morning on MSNBC. "Every child should have a safe place in their life."

• Hundreds of bullets, multiple 30-round clips at Conn. school
• The brief, enigmatic life of mass-murderer Adam Lanza

Manchin, a "lifetime member" of the NRA, has been one of the most prominent pro-gun faces in the Democratic party. He heartily accepted the NRA's endorsement of his candidacy in 2010, and has an "A" rating from the pro-gun group. During his 2010 campaign, he released an ad in which he was shown using a rifle to shoot a bullet through a physical copy of cap-and-trade legislation.

A number of Democrats have come out in favor of stronger gun laws in the wake of the shooting, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza allegedly opened fire in an elementary school, killing 26 people before turning the gun on himself. Manchin's remarks are significant because they are among the first such comments coming out of the pro-gun community.

"I want to call all our friends in the NRA, sit down and have this - bring them into it. They have to be at the table. We all have to," he said. "This has changed the dialogue and it should move beyond dialogue -- we need action."

The power of the pro-gun lobby -- and specifically of the NRA -- is widely credited with the staunch opposition that nearly all gun control measures have faced in Congress in recent years. That strength will likely be tested in the coming weeks as Democrats push for a series of new laws.

"Anyone saying they don't want to talk and sit down and have that type of dialogue is wrong," Manchin said.

He also argued that hunters should have no need for high-capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons for sport.

"I don't know anyone 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. I mean, these are things that need to be talked about," he said. "I've never had more than three shells in a clip. Sometimes you don't get more than one shot anyway at a deer. You know, it's common sense."

Lanza is believed to have perpetrated his rampage using his mother's legally-purchased guns. A law enforcement source told CBS News that among the weapons found on Lanza during the attack were two handguns -- a Sig Sauer and a Glock -- and a Bushmaster .223 assault rifle. He also reportedly had a fourth weapon in the trunk of the car.

[wolvesareeatingyou]

I own an M4 with 6 or 7 30 round magazines. Surprisingly enough despite having all of these high capacity magazines my rifle hasn't jumped up on it's own and shot anyone. That is because we don't have a gun control problem in America, we have a mental health problem. Banning guns will not address the underlying issues of why these tragedies occur. You can't treat the symptoms you have to treat the disease, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. The second amendment is not about hunting or target shooting, the second amendment is about allowing the American people a last resort to protect themselves from tyranny in government. That is it's ONLY purpose. How are you supposed to defend yourself from an out of control government with 3 or 4 round magazines? You know who would have loved to have my M4 and the biggest magazine that they could possibly get? Any Jew in Nazi Germany when they started chucking them into concentration camps.

[BWB2020]

What jokes these pro-gun nut cases be.

NRA baggers, when you rise up, are you going to take your AR-15s, and shoot the cops in your neighborhood? Your congressman, or senator, maybe?

Maybe you think yourselves skilled enough to take a shot at the president?

Back to reality though, just who do you think you are going to be shooting at when you "rise up"?

Try "rising up", you would be reduced to a grease stain on the pavement the moment you start, you will never get within striking distance of those you would need to "rise" against.

I'd like to see you suckers try to take out an unmanned bomber drone with your AR-15s. Rather, I wouldn't mind laughing at the inevitable result.

The framers of the constitution had no inkling of assault weapons, unmanned bomber drones, attack helicopters, chemical, or nuclear weapons.

Or do you posit that you have the right to own such weapons also?

Without such weapons, you don't have a prayer of "rising up" against those who do have them, you know this full well.

That "founding fathers" argument is deader than the founding fathers themselves.

We are indeed responsible for our own safety, so we exercise that responsibility by acting as a group to place limits on the various threats to our safety that we can control, eliminating as many as possible.

Yes, we are ultimately alone, but there is no law prohibiting acting in a group to achieve our goals.

You can oppose gun control all you want, but you are destined to be in a constant and losing battle, as we will always move against threats to our families, and unregulated assault weapons are statistically the number one threat.

[wolvesareeatingyou]

And tell me how the government would tell the difference between regular people and the citizens who were resisting them? An unmanned drone is no good if you don't know who to use it on. What are they going to do? Bomb everyone until they eventually get the hostiles? You don't think using a drone on US citizens would whip up some kind of backlash? You also forget that it takes Americans to operate these machines at the end of the day, would they murder innocent Americans simply trying to preserve their freedom and protect themselves from tyranny? If you don't like guns don't own one, but don't try to take away my only means of self-defense. Stay out of my business. There are plenty of European countries who share your views on gun control, if you want to live in an unarmed defenseless society then move to one. If SHTF we don't need feminine girly men on our side anyway.

[DemGOOP]

We are addicted to guns. Though a complete ban will take years, for now there should be laws that clearly states, how many guns a family can own? What type of weapons can be sold and purchased? The license should be renewed every year at a cost (similar to car tags). Guns cannot be sold by the buyer to another person without getting police clearance. If a crime is committed by the carelessness of the owner he/she will be held liable. Guns should be illegal in all public places. Also, just like cigarette companies, gun manufactures will have to spend a portion of their revenue in promoting safe usage of guns.

[rwsmith29456]

That won't stop crazy people from killing others. People use bombs, derail trains and burn down buildings to the same end. We have some laws now that make sense such as no machine guns or sawed-off weapons. I'm looking for more of the same type of legislation and don't advocate a ban on guns or making them too difficult/expensive to own as you do.

[jimbo7776]

I doubt any pyscho murderer is going to care about any law. The only thing that will stop them is an armed citizen.

[RAS08]

Mentally ill? What mentally ill. BAN GUNS! Idiot.

[wolvesareeatingyou]

Only the mentally ill would want to ban guns. There are around 230 million of them in America right now. The only people who would turn in their guns in the case of a gun ban are obviously people who respect and obey the law. Tyrone the crack dealer up the street with 3 prior felony convictions isn't going to turn in ****. He is going to do ten years if he gets caught with one anyway, so he doesn't care about the law. If you can't understand this simple explanation then perhaps you need to go get your head examined by a mental health professional.

[rwsmith29456]

I'm a gun owner, ('nut') if you will. and I agree with the Senator on having laws that make sense and do some good. Like even now you can't own a machine gun or a sawed-off weapon and that doesn't bother me a bit. I'm not a member of the NRA but I hope they can help curtail wholesale banning of guns. One thing that makes sense to me (but still won't stop crazy people from killing) is a ban on extended magazines. By the way, what I'm nuts about is shooting targets.

[quantum_analysis]

Alright, so the talk now from the NRA gun nutz is to arm the teaches and custodians at all schools, because they believe MORE GUNS is the answer.

We already are the most-armed nation in the world with a "Wild West" mentality, but just think, Mrs. Lanza had all these guns to protect her from the "bad guys," and they didn't help her!

[myopinionpal]

The bad guy that lived with her killed her.

[harv823]

Manchin is certainly correct in wanting common sense gun safety laws.But, why invite the NRA to have a dialogue about gun control? Who cares what the radical irrelevant NRA has to say? They should be EXCLUDED from any common sense gun law discussions, not included.

[glee6924]

the massacre is not about gun controls, it is about human mental defect. it will always happen no matter what mankind will do, there will always be a crazy individual who thinks as crazy as hitler. take a look at what happened in china, the guy on the other side of the world was not armed with guns but a knife. should china criminalize knife ownership?

[AWRojo]

GLEE6924 the BIG difference with the China case is that people survived!

[payasyougo]

It's time to solve the problem of these rampant killings. It stops when you eliminate gun free zones (pronounced "criminal safe to kill unarmed citizen zones").

[quantum_analysis]

Ooooops.....there goes Sen. Joe Manchin's "A" rating from the NRA, just for pushing a "common sense" discussion about gun laws.

[citizenstakecontrol]

Hey Joe.....I killed a deer with my AR-15 a couple of weeks ago....come over for a bowl of venison stew!

[skeezix06]

Two thoughts.

1. You're admitting you can't hit the broad side of a barn with a regular rifle.

2. It's stew because there weren't big enough pieces left to make steaks and roasts.

[quantum_analysis]

Yes SKEEZIX06, my thoughts exactly, especially for anyone that needs an assault rifle to hunt with! Very sad!

It's illegal in my state to use assault weapons for hunting, and rifles that hold over 5 rounds!