MONTGOMERY, Ala. – An Alabama legislator said it's time to "empty the clip" when addressing illegal immigration, but he says he wasn't advocating violence.
Others found his remarks frightening after a deadly Arizona rampage.
Sen. Scott Beason said Tuesday he used the phrase in a weekend speech to the Cullman County Republican Club, but not in the sense of firing all the ammunition in a weapon.
He said he meant that it will take a wide array of government action to solve illegal immigration and other problems.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy said the remark was "reckless rhetoric," after a gunman used a semiautomatic pistol with a 33-round clip to kill six people and wound 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz.
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