Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), the congressman representing the Aurora community rocked last week by the movie theater shooting rampage that left a dozen dead and scores more wounded, said Sunday that he believed Congress should reinstate the assault weapons ban in light of the recent tragedy.
Perlmutter was appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation" immediately after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who called for presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to "stand up" on gun control. But the Colorado lawmaker said Congress needed to take action on the issue.
"The mayor is saying this is all on the president's back, or the presidential candidates' back, Romney or Obama — I think this is a congressional issue that has to be dealt with," Perlmutter said. "Should we reinstate the assault weapons ban? I think we should, and I think that's where it starts."
The Colorado lawmaker pointed to the sheer amount of weaponry that alleged shooter James Holmes was able to gather over a few short months.
"We ought to be taking a look at how this guy was able to accumulate so much ammunition," Perlmutter said. "He had enough ammunition for like a small army. There's something wrong about that. So I think the mayor is correct, but he's putting the finger on the wrong spot, it should be on Congress."
Perlmutter did acknowledge that in his community, a conversation about weapons control "really isn't taking place" as families and friends grapple with the loss of life. But the lawmaker called a renewed examination of federal gun laws in Congress an inevitability.
"I don't think we can avoid it," Perlmutter said.
