High-ranking Dem Rep. Larson calls for gun-law reforms: 'Politics be damned'

A member of the House Democratic leadership issued a forceful statement Saturday calling on Congress to vote on key gun-control laws in light of the Connecticut elementary school shooting that left 20 children dead.

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the outgoing chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said lawmakers should vote soon on banning assault weapons and high-capacity clips, closing terrorist watch list loopholes, and instituting background checks for gun sales.

"To do nothing in the face of continuous assaults on our children is to be complicit in those assaults," Larson said in response to the shootings in his home state. "There may not be a single cure-all for the violence in our nation, however we must start the process and begin the deeper and longer conversations that need to take place. Politics be damned."

“It’s time for members of Congress to act," Larson continued.

Several congressional Democrats have spoken out since the shootings in Newtown, Conn., calling for concrete action on gun-control laws. Still, advocates of such legislation will almost certainly face major resistance from Republicans and many Democrats.