Sen. Warner urges new gun-control measures

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who earns top marks from the National Rifle Association, said Monday it's time for "rational gun control."

Warner told WTVR-TV, Richmond, Va., that after Friday's horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn., when 20 children and six adults were killed by a young gunman who also killed his mother and himself, it's time to do something to stop the nation's gun violence.

"I believe every American has Second Amendment rights, the ability to hunt is part of our culture. I've had a NRA rating of an 'A' but, you know, enough is enough," said Warner, whose home state was the site of the nation's worst school shooting, when 32 died at Virginia Tech in 2007. "I think most of us realize that there are ways to get to rational gun control. There are ways to grapple with the obvious challenges of mental illness."

Warner told the TV station he believes the "overwhelming majority of Americans who are gun owners" want stricter gun-control laws.

"Now what those specifics ought to be, there will be time for that," he said. "There should not be a Democrat or Republican position on this. It is time for this kind of senseless violence to end. There won't be one perfect law to stop a crazy person from doing evil things. But when we have close to 30,000 killings a year from all types of gun violence, even if we save a few lives, we make progress."