Sen. Al Franken Raises Doubts About Support For Assault Weapons Ban (UPDATED)

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Sen Al Franken (D-MN) on Wednesday indicated that he’s undecided on an assault weapons ban, the Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Minn. reported. 

Speaking at an event in Rochester, Franken pledged support for a number of provisions in the gun control package outlined by President Barack Obama at a news conference on Wednesday — including limiting high-capacity magazines and instituting stricter nationwide background checks — but the junior senator from Minnesota did not mention a ban on assault weapons. 

When asked if Franken would back an assault weapons ban, Marc Kimball, a spokesman for the senator, couldn’t say for sure.

“I guess I don’t have an answer for you,” Kimball said. “He’s been listening to Minnesota, trying to be thoughtful on this and trying to get input from people from a wide spectrum of views.”

Update: A Franken aide told TPM on Thursday that the senator has “consistently supported” a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, nothing that he was unaware of the the president’s exact gun control proposals because the event in Rochester was held at the same time as the White House’s announcement.

According to the aide, a statement outlining Franken’s support of an assault weapons ban was provided to the Post-Bulletin on Thursday, but it was not published in the newspaper’s original report. The Post-Bulletin’s report has since been updated.

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