MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama legislator said it’s time to “empty the clip” when addressing illegal immigration, but he says he wasn’t advocating violence.
Others found his remarks frightening after a deadly Arizona rampage.
Sen. Scott Beason said Tuesday he used the phrase in a weekend speech to the Cullman County Republican Club, but not in the sense of firing all the ammunition in a weapon.
He said he meant that it will take an array of government action to solve illegal immigration and other problems.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy said the remark was “reckless rhetoric,” after a gunman used a semiautomatic pistol with a 33-round clip to kill six people and wound 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
