Possible assault weapon ban worries Valley residents

PHOENIX - In light of Friday's shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is planning to present a bill that would ban assault weapons come the first day of new Congress.

"It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation, and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively, and it will ban the same for big clips, drums, or strips, of more than ten bullets," said Feinstein.

But some people here in Arizona feel Feinstein's bill is too extreme.

Theodore Borriente went to Shooter's World in Phoenix to practice shooting for the first time. He said the Newtown massacre is what pushed him over the edge. "There's crazy people out there and stuff is going to happen like that. When it comes to me and my family, I'd rather be prepared to protect myself," said Borriente.

Feinstein's proposal isn't the first time the U.S. has seen such a bill in congress. Democratic legislators have been fighting for it since 2004 when President Bill Clinton's law banning assault weapons expired.

Still, many feel this law is aiming at the wrong part of the problem. "They should focus on the mental state of these children, their parents. Get these people help, but don't take away my first amendment right to bare arms with whatever weapon I choose," said Heather Glaser.