Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy claimed Wednesday that Americans shouldn’t have AR-15s for the same reason that citizens aren’t allowed to own tanks.

“We don’t let people have tanks just because we make tanks. We don’t let them have flame throwers because we make flame throwers. We don’t let them have grenades because we have grenades. All these things are arguably, you know, guns,” he said.

Malloy made the comments at The Atlantic’s “Defining Justice” conference Wednesday. The Democrat has long been an advocate of criminal justice reform, responsible for drastically reducing the incarcerated population since he ascended to the governorship in 2011. Malloy was also a leading force in the state Senate for abolishing the death penalty in 2009.

Calls for state and federal bans on AR-15s have become more and more prevalent in the wake of the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. Many have argued the 2nd Amendment was only intended to allow people to use weapons that were prevalent in 1791 when it was ratified.

Contrary to Malloy’s statement, however, Americans are allowed to purchase, own, and use tanks, flame throwers, and grenades. U.S. citizens need only to obtain a Destructive Device permit or a pyrotechnics permit. Permits require a clean criminal and mental record as well as the signed approval from a local law enforcement official.

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Malloy’s support for an AR-15 ban joined a similar call from Florida sheriffs last week. Support for semi-automatic weapons bans among the American public has fallen from 80 percent in 1990 to 50 percent today. Nevertheless, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) President Kevin Lystad argued Florida should reinstate its ban on semi-automatic weapons.



“In only one condition should you have an assault rifle, if you’ve joined the Marines and you’re going to fight,” Israel told the Herald. “Based on the law, if someone [who has weapons] says I want to grow up and be a serial killer, there’s nothing you can do about it. We can’t arrest for something a person is thinking about.”

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