Mitt Romney just stopped by Bloggers’ Corner here at CPAC, and I asked him whether, given that he signed an assault weapon’s ban in Massachusetts in 2004 but has since become a lifelong member of the NRA, he would sign or veto a federal ban on assault weapons if it were presented to him. He basically punted on the issue, saying he couldn’t comment if he didn’t know the specifics of the legislation. To be fair, this is more or less the same way that Giuliani domestic advisor Bill Simon answered when I posed a similar question yesterday.
Romney said, “My position is the same as it has been, which is that I support the Second Ammendment, but I also support assault weapon’s ban, that’s why I signed a bill of that nature…” I followed up and asked what he would feel about a federal ban, and he said, “the specifics of the particular ban are something that I’d have to look at, and it’s been a long time since we’ve looked at the types of weapons that would be involved.”
Ed over at Captain’s Quarters has a podcast up, with the full audio of Romney’s answer, as well as his answers to other questions. Karol over at Alarming News also has a write up.