Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis told Meet the Press NOW that conversations around new gun laws like 'red flag' legislation have "merit," but the devil's in the details as Congress negotiates how to respond to a spate of mass shootings in recent weeks.
"Almost all, if not all of us can agree: Certain people should not have firearms. How do we get to that? That's the question. And how do we decide who those people are?" he said.
Noting that 'red flag' laws — laws that allow people to petition a judge to temporarily block the purchase or possession of firearms if they're considered dangerous — have "merit," he said that the "big flaw" is that the laws don't always give people due process. He added that he supports measures that incentivize states to enact those laws instead of one sweeping federal law because it would be a "problem" if people had to petition the federal court system.
Curtis wouldn't take a position either way, but he went on to say that "Republicans are ready to have" the conversation about whether to look at juvenile records when young adults try to buy guns. But he said the idea of adding different restrictions on certain categories of weapons or ammunition is "a really hard one for me."
"I go out with people who enjoy recreational shooting who will shoot thousands of rounds in an afternoon. And so, what I would really like to see is the data that shows us this is a problem," he said.
He added that a lack of data is a "fundamental flaw" because when Congress recently approved funding for gun violence research, it didn't provide enough money to fully examine the issue.
