Gun owner: Law won't stop violent acts

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The fight on Capitol Hill over strict gun laws is just starting, but a local gun shop owner says weapon control laws won't stop violent acts.

"It's definitely a sensitive topic," John Davison, owner of Davison's Discount Guns in Norfolk said. "A criminal is going to commit a crime no matter what he has."

Davison watched the events of the Newtown, Conn. shooting unfold last week in horror much like all Americans.

"For someone to pull such a heinous crime on children... I couldn't even think about something like that," Davison said.

What happened in Connecticut has sparked yet another firearms debate across America, but this massacre may have some staying power, affecting some main players on Capitol Hill.

Monday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) changed his stance on owning assault rifles; Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Cali.) even promised to introduce an assault weapons ban bill during the next congressional session.

Warner has always been a staunch supporter of the NRA, but said Monday he now believes more restrictions need to put in place.

"I think you are going to see, at least I hope, that there is an awful lot of folks like myself that have an 'A' rating from the NRA that are willing to say, 'Enough,'" Warner said.

However, Davison maintained making it tougher to get guns isn't going to stop the violence.

"Unfortunately it's not the firearms that hurt people, it's people that hurt people," Davison said. "I know a lot of times they say, '... if this person didn't have [guns].' It just boils down to, you can carry extra magazines and still just do as much damage."