AOC praise for Golden’s flip-flop on assault weapon ban could hurt in district Trump won

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) praised Rep. Jared Golden’s (D-ME) support of banning assault-style rifles after a mass shooting in his home state that left 18 people dead.

“I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” Golden said on Thursday. Last year, he voted against an assault weapons ban, joining Republicans and a few Democrats. The House passed the measure in a 217-213 vote in July 2022, but it later failed in the Senate.

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“The time has come for me to take responsibility for this failure,” he added, “which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing.”

His reversal won praise from one of the most liberal members of Congress, with Ocasio-Cortez writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Powerful, brave, and moving. This is leadership. Thank you, @RepGolden. Our community stands with yours throughout this tragedy and in the work ahead.”

“For the good of my community, I will work with any colleague to get this done in the time that I have left in Congress,” Golden said. The Maine Democrat has broken with his party to oppose certain gun control bills.

However, the change of heart on a weapons ban, as well as support from one of the loudest, farthest-left members of Congress, could come back to haunt Golden next year. Despite the state leaning to the left — Democrats control all three levels of state government, and both of the state’s representatives are Democrats — former President Donald Trump won Golden’s 2nd District by 7 points in 2020.

Maine police are continuing their search of the shooting suspect, 40-year-old Robert Card, who is still at large as of Friday afternoon.

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Golden, widely considered to be a centrist, spoke alongside Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) during a press conference, but she noted she did not back an assault rifle ban. Collins clarified, “I think it is more important that we ban very high-capacity magazines.”

Golden asked for forgiveness from the families and community, saying he’ll do anything he can to support those recovering from the tragedy.