NPR

'Seize This Moment': Doug Jones Tackles Gun Control In First Senate Speech

The Alabama Democrat said recent student protests remind him of the civil rights movement. He called for tighter control of gun purchases and expressed respect for the Second Amendment.

Alabama Sen. Doug Jones delivered his maiden speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, tackling a topic that would seem anathema to most Southern Democrats — gun control.

Jones, who was elected in a special election upset last December, called for universal background checks, raising the age for purchasing semi-automatic weapons to 21 and eliminating key loopholes that could allow a gun to fall into dangerous hands.

"In the wake of yet another mass shooting, and the rising voices of young people across the country, it is our responsibility –

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