Sen. Bill Nelson: 'AK-47s are for killing, not for hunting'

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gun control is a sticky issue for many politicians, but Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said assault weapons don't belong on the streets.

"I'm a hunter. I've grown up with guns. I grew up on a ranch," Nelson said. "AK-47s are for killing, not for hunting."

The manufacture, sale and possession of assault weapons has been legal since 2004, when a previous ban signed into law by President Bill Clinton expired.

Now, Diane Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California, is promising to introduce a bill that would reinstate the ban.

"I think these incidents are going to continue until we do something to change the supply mode of these weapons out in our society," Feinstein said.

But any vote for gun control will no doubt be controversial.

The Republican Party has long been a champion of the Second Amendment, and many in the party say limiting access to guns only hurts law-abiding citizens.

Democrats, too, count many gun rights advocates among their ranks, and after their members pushed the last assault weapons ban, the party sustained big losses at the polls.

Still, Feinstein is convinced the events of Connecticut will push lawmakers to support her bill.

"If there should be a safe place in America, it is an elementary school. And here, in this elementary school, look what happened," said Feinstein.

WFTV