MSNBC 's PoliticsNation host Al Sharpton on Saturday claimed banning semi-automatic weapons would be the "most pro-police" proposal Congress could come up with.
"This president has always attacked those of us that questioned some police when there are things that we consider police going over the line," Sharpton said. "Banning automatic weapons, banning semi-automatic weapons, banning these kinds of military-style weapons is the most pro-police thing you can do because they are the first responders."
Most firearms being sold in the United States are semi-automatic, which means one pull of the trigger discharges a round of ammunition. Fully automatic guns, which were virtually banned by the Hughes Amendment in 1986, cause more havoc because one pull of the trigger continually discharges ammunition until the trigger is released or the ammo runs out.
Sharpton went on to suggest that the best way to protect police officers is making sure they aren't running into a dangerous situation where they could be outgunned.
"Who are the ones who really hate the police, Mr. O'Rourke, if you're going to keep putting them in danger's way playing politics with the NRA," Sharpton said.
O'Rourke said Sharpton is "absolutely right" with his assertion. He then went on to say individual officers, police chiefs, and sheriff deputies don't want "weapons designed for war for killing people on a battlefield in those communities that they are serving and protecting."
"In many cases they are outmatched and they are outgunned and they're asking us to help them to do their job by keeping these guns off the street," O'Rourke said. "Keep them on the battlefield. Do not continue to sell them in our communities."
This isn't the first time Sharpton has talked about a ban on assault weapons. In March 2018, Sharpton claimed the Second Amendment doesn't protect the right of Americans to bear "AR-15s or assault weapons" because they didn't exist when the Constitution was written.
"The Second Amendment doesn't give you the right to bear AR-15s or assault weapons. They didn't even exist then," Sharpton said. "They are standing up for sane and common-sense gun laws that many of us have [inaudible] for years."