January 13, 2011 08:06 PM UTC

At Least He's Not Your Congressman

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• by: Colorado Pols

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks had some thoughts about the Tucson shootings, but perhaps he should not have voiced them. As Roll Call explains:

A Republican from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ home state of Arizona suggested Wednesday that the shooting rampage that injured Giffords and killed or wounded 19 others could have been stopped sooner had there been more armed people at the scene.

“I wish there had been one more gun there that day in the hands of a responsible person,” Rep. Trent Franks told reporters Wednesday when asked about calls for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shootings.

Sure, several more people with guns shooting at each other would have made everything much better. It would have been helpful if there were more trained law enforcement officials with guns at the scene, but we have a hard time seeing how this would not have been worse had several more civilians opened fire. Even “responsible” people may not be particularly accurate with a handgun — especially in a crowded public area.