"All Things Considered" host Robert Siegel talks to Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma about why he voted no against the measure to expand background checks.
UPDATE: Oklahoma's two U.S. Senators split over Thursday's vote to begin debate on a bipartisan gun control bill. Sen. Tom Coburn was one of 16 Republicans voting to debate the legislation. Sen. Jim Inhofe voted with other GOP members to block debate.
Coburn told a town hall recently in Oklahoma City he was interested in finding a way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, but was concerned about keeping any data from turning into a firearm registry.
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told a crowd at an Oklahoma City town hall that a .45-caliber handgun with 10 rounds in it is no different than an AR-15.
“There isn’t a gun that’s made that isn’t an assault weapon,” he said after one man recommended a ban on military-style assault guns.
After answering several questions last week related to controlling firearms, Coburn told the nearly 150 people in the room that he wouldn’t answer any more questions about guns.
“What I’m trying to do right now is both protect the Second Amendment and the 10th Amendment for Oklahoma if we want to do something different,” Coburn said.
