>> PEGGY: Despite public and bipartisan support for a revised gun regulation, the national
rifle association called vice president Biden's gun reform plan an agenda to attack the second
amendment.
Here with his take is second amendment advocate, Mike Benoit.
Mike, thanks for talking to us about this.
When you ran for Congress, back in 2010, how much of your platform involved or focused
on the second amendment rights?
>> My platform is focused on human rights in general so the second amendment is just
one of those rights.
They're all equally important.
>> PEGGY: What are you doing now in the libertarian party?
>> Currently I'm the campaign's chair for the libertarian party and no matter the issue
we come down on the side of liberty.
>> PEGGY: The national rifle association says that they will support a law to keep guns
out of the hands of those who are mentally ill.
I know they don't represent all gun owners in America but would you agree with that limitation
or any limitation on gun regulation?
>> I wouldn't agree with that limitation because all you have to do to set up that kind of
a law is somebody visited a psychiatrist could be considered mentally ill, mentally impaired
and lose their right to keep and bear arms.
Those kinds of regulations do no good in regards to keeping the guns out of the hands of somebody
that might not be crazy or go crazy.
>> PEGGY: Do you support background checks for private and gun show sales?
>> No, I don't support that, either.
The idea that, again, we had a background check we're going to keep the bad guy from
getting a gun, the bad guy is going to get the gun if he has to steal the gun so these
are placebos that make people feel good.
>> PEGGY: I want to get to the heart of the issue.
Do you support any kind of limitation whatsoever on any weapon, any ammunition, magazine, size,
any shape?
>> I think the only limitation would be if the weapon or the ammunition was volatile
and could cause harm itself without a human actor on it.
>> PEGGY: We have limitations in place, we're not allowed to put a cannon in our front yard,
we're not allowed to have ground to surface weapon of any kind whatsoever.
So, you know, why not regulate AK 47s or these guns that are made specifically for killing
people?
>> You could say we have these regulations with, say, a cannon, you can't put a cannon
in your yard and I would be fine if somebody had a cannon in their yard, I think it would
be kinda cool but then say let's take away the AK 47, the 9 millimeter, what is the agenda?
My agenda and the party's agenda is human rights and liberty and we should be able to
protect ourselves, our rights and our property if we have to with deadly force.
We should never use deadly force in an offensive manner, though.
>> PEGGY: Let me get to one last question, aside from the NRA's idea of putting armed
guards in schools what do you think could be done to thwart massacre shootings?
>> I think the local school districts can take measures, the federal
ordinances, those ought to be repealed but if we send our child to school we expect the
school to watch out for the safety of our child.
It's not a national program butÊ >> PEGGY: Local?
Anything else you think we could do to prevent these guns being used for mass destruction?
>> You know what?
People are going to go crazy, it's going to happen from time to time.
I would rather not see a situation where the government has all the guns and the people
don't have any because those prove disastrous for us, too.
>> PEGGY: Mike Benoit, second amendment advocate, thank you so much for talking with us.
>>> Thank you.