Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway is calling on President Donald Trump, and elected officials at all levels, to begin working laws that would ban assault weapons while at the same time asking the National Rifle Association to reconsider coming to Dallas in May for their annual meeting.
Caraway held a news conference Monday morning on the steps of City Hall where he said the NRA needs to come to the table ready to discuss reforming laws to “help to stop gun violence in our communities.”
“I am all for the protection of the 2nd Amendment, but I am also for protecting the children and a safer Dallas,” Caraway said. “We must get rid of these assault weapons to protect the children and we must do something now."
Caraway said the NRA event scheduled from May 4 to May 6 is not appropriate after the Florida school shooting and a number of events that have happened in Dallas, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the July 2016 ambush that killed five police officers.
"Sometimes even if you lose money -- all money is not good money. At this point, children's lives and citizen's lives and people's lives are greater than any dollar you can attach to it," Caraway said.
The longtime Dallas City Councilman made it clear he supports the second amendment, even adding that he owns five guns, including one he keeps in his car and four he keeps at home, but that he's, "saddened by the fact that every time we turn around there's some kind of gun violence."
"It is time to put the heat on the NRA and demand that they work with elected officials in our country to establish gun laws that protect our children and keep our communities safe,” Caraway said. “We have got to take on the NRA.”
Caraway didn't ignore mental health being a component in many mass shootings, but maintained a position that there should be limits to what type of weapons citizens are allowed to own and even hinted at wanting to pass a ban on the AR-15 within Dallas city limits.
NBC 5 News"At the end of the day, we need to connect the dots. The NRA needs to step up to the plate and show leadership," Caraway said. "We should not allow people to possess assault rifles and weapons. Assault rifles and weapons should be for our military and police."
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Caraway then posed a scenario where, if action is not taken, things may only get worse.
"If we don't set the tone now, is a bazooka, and I don't know, but is a bazooka against the law? Can you carry a bazooka? Does a person with a bazooka have to go into a school to shoot up the school and injure the children?" Caraway questioned.
Despite saying the NRA needs to come to the table, Caraway announced no formal event where those discussions on gun reform could begin.
NBC 5 's Frank Heinz contributed to this report.
