Mayorkas backs assault weapons ban but won't give definition
Mayorkas said an AK-47 would be classed as an assault weapon
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday that he backs a ban on the ownership of "assault weapons" – but declined to provide a clear definition of the type of gun he would like to ban.
Mayorkas was asked at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., whether he agrees with President Biden "that we should ban the private ownership of assault weapons in America?"
"Senator, I do," Mayorkas replied.
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Kennedy then asked him: "What is an assault weapon?"
"It is, for example, an AK-47," Mayorkas said.
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Kennedy, however, wanted more: "Can you give me a definition other than just pointing to a specific weapon? Would there be other weapons besides an AK-47 you would ban?"
Mayorkas went on to cite his time as a federal prosecutor from 1989-2001 and said that "the vast majority of law enforcement officers, leaders with whom I worked were greatly in support of the assault weapons ban."
Kennedy then accused Mayorkas of not answering the question, which Mayorkas disputed.
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"No, you didn't. Do you have a definition of an assault weapon?" he said.
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"I am confident there is a technical definition of what is an assault weapon, and it was assuredly used in the context of the statute that previously existed banning assault weapons," Mayorkas responded.
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President Biden on Tuesday reiterated his calls for further gun control, including an assault weapons ban after six people were killed in a mass shooting at a Christian private school in Nashville, Tennessee.
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"The majority of the American people think having assault weapons is bizarre, it's a crazy idea. They're against that. And so, I think the Congress should be passing an assault weapons ban," the president said.
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"I want to remind you, the last time we passed the assault weapons ban violent shooting went down. Mass shootings went down … I can't do anything except plead with the Congress to act reasonably," he added.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.