Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said on Tuesday that he is open to having a “conversation” on raising minimum age requirements for buying “AR-15-style weapons” amid ongoing talks about gun reform.
Why it matters: Hutchinson is the latest Republican official to suggest a willingness to consider potential changes to gun purchasing requirements.
- “You have to at least have a conversation about that," he said.
Details: Hutchinson told CNN's John Berman that he supports a bipartisan conversation that could lead to new gun control legislation, including a meeting between a bipartisan group of governors.
- "America wants to see in a bipartisan way this kind of discussion going on, looking for solutions that make a difference," he said.
Yes, but: He said the challenge with a gun safety discussion is "whenever you look at what might make a difference, it's hard to come up with a solution."
- "And that's why you cannot just simply focus on the gun safety discussion," he added. "It's got to also be about investment at higher levels of school safety."
The big picture: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Sunday he's open to a federal ban on AR-15-style rifles, adding that his opinion changed after the Uvalde, Texas, shooting.
- "Look, I have opposed a ban, you know, fairly recently. I think I'm open to a ban now," Kinzinger told CNN.
- "It's going to depend on what it looks like because there's a lot of nuances on what constitutes, you know, certain things," he added.
President Biden told reporters Monday that "rational Republicans" could act on gun control legislation soon. He added that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was "a rational Republican."
