Former U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd said Monday he supports restrictions on some types of guns, particularly assault weapons, in the wake of the Denver shootings last week.
Dodd, a Democrat, was in Windsor stumping for a local democratic candidate. He questioned why anyone would need an assault rifle --- one of the weapons the accused gunman used in Friday's rampage in Colorado that killed 12 and injured 58 --- and said even hunters can't make a good argument in support of the sale of assault weapon, according to the blog Capitol Watch.
“People have Second Amendment rights, in a sense," the blog quotes the former senator. "I respect that and support that. But, like all rights, there needs to be limitations. The right to free speech is not unlimited. You can’t scream fire in a crowded theater, as the saying goes. The right to bear arms ought not to be an unlimited right."
His comments come at a time when some are debating the role that accessibility to guns and violence in movies may have played in the shooting attack that took place during a screen of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises."
Dodd, who has a home on the Connecticut River in East Haddam, was a longtime and powerful member of the U.S. Senate who opted not to seek re-election in 2010. He also made a brief run for president.
If you are going to yammer on at least address the real reasons for these nut cases and or talk about enforcing laws that exist. For people like him, it’s always go after the rational law abiding citizens and don't address the real issues. It's easier for a chest thumper like Dodd to go after us average folk than to really work to actually address the cause of these outbreaks. Hey Dodd, here's some low hanging fruit for you, take a look at the movie and gaming industry and their contribution to creating nutcases and violence.