Menendez pushes for gun control: 'Enough is enough'

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called on Congress to ban high-capacity clips and adopt other gun-control measures after last week’s the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.

“Enough is enough,” Menendez said on the floor Monday. “Let us finally pass commonsense gun laws — no more politics, no more excuses. We cannot allow this sort of senseless violence to continue.”

Menendez called on Congress to act immediately and ban high-capacity clips.

The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, used a high-powered riffle and had an arsenal of hundreds of rounds of especially deadly ammunition, reports have stated. He killed himself about 10 minutes after starting the attack.

The Associated Press reported that Lanza is believed to have carried out the killings using a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, a civilian version of the military's M-16. Some AR-15s were outlawed as part of the 1994 assault weapons ban. But that law expired in 2004, and Congress did not renew it after heavy pressure from gun-rights lobbyists.

“These high-capacity clips must be outlawed,” Menendez said. “Why would a law-abiding citizen need high-capacity clips to go around like a street sweeper?”

Menendez said laws are needed to ban high-capacity clips, reform background checks on gun purchasers and reinstate the assault weapons ban.

“I’m all for responsible gun use, but I’m also for protecting our children, our teachers and our families,” Menendez said.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) added that his committee would begin to hold hearings early next year looking into gun violence and measures to reduce it.

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