At a somber press conference addressing the horrific Maine mass shooting — the 36th mass killing in the United States this year — U.S. Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME) spoke about his failure as a policymaker and is asking his constituents for forgiveness and support as he “seek(s) to put an end to these terrible shootings.”
The 41-year-old Marine Corps veteran said the moment demands humility and a course correction. “I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” Golden said. “The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure.”
Refreshing to see this kind of honesty from @RepGolden about his own failure as a policymaker. Something Susan Collins should learn from #mepolitics pic.twitter.com/NDgs6htJtT
— Seth Taylor Nelson 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 (@sethtnelson) October 26, 2023
[Note: Golden was the only Democrat to vote against the Bipartisan Background Checks Act to expand background checks on gun purchases and one of two Democrats to vote against the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. Both bills passed the House in March 2021.]
At the press conference Golden said: “I now call on the United State Congress to ban assault rifles like the one used by this sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine.”
Golden says he will work with “any colleague” to get this done “in the time I have left in Congress.”
Note: As of August 2022, Golden had voted in line with President Biden’s stated position 85.7% of the time, the lowest rate of any member of the Democratic caucus.
