Booker backs legislation that would result in Americans being ‘thrown in jail’ if they won’t give up their guns

Cory Booker said he backs legislation that would get Americans “thrown in jail” for owning “assault weapons” if they do not hand them over in a buyback program in which they would be sold to the government.

Booker, a senator for New Jersey and 2020 presidential hopeful, said that incarceration would be an option after a “reasonable period” following the buyback offer.

“Again, we should have a law that bans these weapons, and we should have a reasonable period in which people can turn in these weapons. Right now we have a nation that allows in streets and communities like mine these weapons that should not exist,” Booker said on CNN on Monday.

The New York Times reporting:

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey rolled out a broad plan on Monday that seeks to combat gun violence through measures including a gun licensing program and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Aspects of Mr. Booker’s 14-part plan are among the most progressive gun-control measures suggested by a candidate seeking the Democratic nomination for president, and are likely to face sharp criticism from gun-rights advocates like the National Rifle Association.

[…]

The most notable piece of Mr. Booker’s plan is the proposed gun licensing program, which would enact minimum standards for gun ownership nationwide. Under such a program, a person seeking to buy a gun would need to apply for a license in much the same way one applies for a passport.

Mr. Booker’s campaign said the process would involve submitting fingerprints and sitting for an interview, and would require applicants to complete a certified gun safety course. Each applicant would also undergo a federal background check before being issued a gun license, which would be valid for up to five years.

[…]

Other parts of the plan include banning bump stocks, which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire faster; limiting bulk purchases of firearms; and closing the loopholes that allow domestic abusers and people on terrorist watch lists to obtain guns. And the plan calls for the I.R.S. to investigate the N.R.A.’s tax-exempt status, an issue the New York attorney general is also exploring, causing considerable turmoil among the group’s leadership.

[…]

…the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, is a specific target of Mr. Booker’s plan. In his announcement Monday, Mr. Booker said that if elected president, he would repeal it.

We need an aggressive approach to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country. My new plan would:

✅Keep guns out of the wrong hands
✅Hold gun manufacturers accountable
✅Bring the fight to the NRAhttps://t.co/6dTQ3SGJcM

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 6, 2019

Dana Loesch, spokesperson for the National Rifle Association (NRA) tweeted this in repsonse to Booker’s plan:

Booker uses the term “weapons of war.” Semi-auto pistols are carried by members of the military. Booker is proposing an all-out ban of *all* guns, not just semi-auto rifles. He wants to increase the prison population by millions. https://t.co/qQSEzqK5CK

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 6, 2019