Carson Changed His Mind On Assault Weapons Ban After Reading About ‘Tyranny’

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson used to support certain gun control measures, like bans on assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets, but said he felt differently after reading about tyranny.

“Reading people like Daniel Webster, who talked about tyranny in Europe and said it would never occur in America because the American people were armed,” Carson told USA Today in an interview published on Tuesday morning. “When you look at tyranny and how it occurs, the pattern is so consistent: Get rid of the guns for the people first so you can go in and dominate them.”

He also said that a ban on certain assault weapons will not prevent mass shootings and instead suggested that teachers or school officials be armed.

“Would that have prevented this? No,” he said of weapons bans. “Would it have prevented the one before? No. I’m for doing things that work, not for things that stroke the emotions.”

“If I had a little kid in kindergarten somewhere I would feel much more comfortable if I knew on that campus there was a police officer or somebody who was trained with a weapon,” Carson continued.

And when asked if teachers should be armed, he replied, “If the teacher was trained in the use of that weapon and had access to it, I would be much more comfortable if they had one than if they didn’t.”

Carson also brought up a favorite conservative talking point, arguing that shooters “tend to pick places that are gun-free zones.”