FNC Highlights Pro-Gun Dems Opposing Eric Holder on Assault Weapon Ban

On Friday’s Special Report with Bret Baier, FNC correspondent Shannon Bream informed viewers of a letter written to Attorney General Eric Holder from 65 House Democrats who oppose the Attorney General’s recently expressed wish to "reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons" to try to reduce violence by Mexican drug cartels. Bream further relayed the recommendations of Democratic Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both from Montana, that the Obama administration should focus on enforcing current gun laws.

Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Friday, March 27, Special Report with Bret Baier on FNC:

BRET BAIER: The Obama administration is looking for ideas on how to reduce the flow of American-made guns across the border and into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels. So Attorney General Eric Holder has floated an old idea, but is it winning any support? Correspondent Shannon Bream reports.

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, TAKING OATH OF OFFICE: I, Eric Holder-

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -do solemnly swear-

HOLDER: -do solemnly swear-

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -that I will support and defend-

HOLDER: -that I will support and defend-

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -the Constitution of the United States-

HOLDER: -the Constitution of the United States-

SHANNON BREAM: He took the oath to uphold the Constitution today, but gun rights advocates say they have concerns about Attorney General Eric Holder's commitment to the Second Amendment specifically.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NRA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: I just wish the Attorney General would respect it as opposed to running out now trying to use this tragedy in Mexico as a way to pass some other gun ban on the backs of the American public.

BREAM: It was against the backdrop of the horrific drug cartel violence in Mexico that Holder broached the idea of ramping up gun control here in the U.S.

HOLDER: There are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons. I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.

BREAM: But the administration will have a tough time finding support from its own on Capitol Hill. Sixty-five Democrats on the House side sent Holder a letter saying they will actively oppose his efforts. Quote, "Law-abiding Americans use these guns for all the same reasons they use any other kind of gun – competitive shooting, hunting and defending their homes and families." Across the Hill, Democratic Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester say efforts are better focused on enforcing the gun laws already on the books, writing to Holder, quote, "Under current law, both transferring a firearm to someone knowing that it will be used to commit a violent or drug- trafficking crime as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime are already federal felonies punishable by imprisonment."

LAPIERRE: The truth is, in regard to Mexico, everything these drug cartels are doing is already illegal on both sides of the border. What we need to do is enforce the existing laws on the books and stop it.

BREAM: Senator Dianne Feinstein, author of the original assault weapons ban, says she will likely introduce legislation to reinstate the expired ban, but admits it will be an uphill fight. In Washington, Shannon Bream, Fox News.