Rep. Moran: Lawmakers 'complicit' in Colorado theater massacre

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) said Monday that legislatures across the country were afraid of imposing stricter gun regulation because of the political power of the National Rifle Association.

"It is just stunning to me that my colleagues are so soft on crime and domestic terrorism that they would allow -- even after the shooting of our colleague Gabby Giffords -- more than 60 multiple shootings since that crime occurred, and in fact, there are tens of thousands of Americans have been murdered by firearms since the massacre at Virginia Tech," Moran said on MSNBC. "It's all because basically legislative bodies around the country have been cast castrated by the NRA, politically castrated. That is what it is all about, they're intimidated."

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has said the right to own high-capacity ammunition magazines like the 100-round drum that was used to kill at least a dozen people in Colorado last week is a “basic freedom” that is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

"My son went to a movie theater at midnight," Moran said. "Don't I have the freedom to know my son can go to a movie theater without gunfire threatening his life? What are we going to do, check everyone going into a movie theater, have a metal detector now? Seems to me this is about freedom. It's the freedom to live securely and safely among our neighbors and friends."

He added that it was "insane" to think someone in the dark, smoke-filled movie theater could have prevented the suspected gunman, James Holmes, from killing so many people. Moran noted that Holmes was wearing a ballistic helmet and body armor at the time. At least 12 were killed and 58 were wounded in the shooting.

"We shrug our shoulders and come up with pious remorseful rhetoric," he continued. "We ought to do something. We haven't done anything about this. To some extent we are complicit in these crimes if we don't stand up and speak out and act responsibly as a legislative body in all levels of government."

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