Madison Cawthorn: No connection between large gun quantities, mass shootings in US

CHARLOTTE - A former Western North Carolina congressman who brought a gun to an international airport said that he sees no connection between the proliferation of mass shootings and the abundance of firearms in the United States, just after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge.

Former 11th District Rep. Madison Cawthorn used a recent mass shooting in Serbia to illustrate his point, saying that Serbia has strict gun control laws.

"You just look recently, there was a 13-year-old who had shot up a school in Serbia unfortunately. There was a terrible loss of life," he said. "It is incredibly difficult to own a firearm there. And so proponents of gun control in the United States of America, that is the road they want to lead us down to, where Serbia is. And obviously, that does not seem to help things," he said.

While Serbia does have stronger gun ownership regulations than some parts of the United States, in the 1990s, Serbia was flooded with hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons from wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and tens of thousands of people own legal firearms for hunting, Reuters reported. According to the same report, Serbia ranks third behind the United States and Yemen with an estimated 39 firearms per 100 people, but mass shootings are relatively rare there.

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Cawthorn, who moved from his Henderson County home earlier this year to Florida, was speaking in an interview May 5 after pleading guilty to a gun-related charge in Mecklenburg County District Court.

"When we're moving that fast up from district to D.C., oftentimes our bags are packed by staffers just grabbing things from the house if we don't have time to go ourselves," he said. "And so, I just happened not to look inside that bag. I had my bag that I had packed for the events I was doing that day, and the next day, I grabbed my backpack for the airport. Unfortunately, I was in such a rush, I didn't take the time to sit down and look through it."

He was cited on April 26, 2022 for bringing a gun to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. He pleaded guilty to violating a Charlotte city ordinance by possessing a dangerous weapon on city property. He was fined $250. He will not be required to forfeit the gun.

In the interview immediately after his plea hearing, Cawthorn said that he was unaware he had a gun in his backpack when he went to the airport.

He said that he supports the prohibition of guns at airports, and he is now far more careful.

"I practiced on my way up here from Florida just yesterday, emptied my entire bag out into my trunk and just went through every single nook and cranny, made sure there was nothing that was inappropriate to go through TSA security," he said.

More: Cawthorn hints at political comeback, says he wants to enjoy life first

Cawthorn pleaded guilty roughly four months after leaving office. He lost the Republican 11th U.S. House District primary to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who went on to win the general election.

Cawthorn said that he hopes to return to politics, but when asked exactly what his plans are, he wasn't specific.

"I leave that up to just whatever God has intended for me. I'm an ardent follower of Christ. So wherever he leads me, I'm happy to go. I'm ready to answer the call whenever," he said. "Right now I'm really enjoying being out of politics. It's a good time to just kind of refresh and observe from the sidelines."

Kara Fohner is a reporter with the Gaston Gazette, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email her at KFohner@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Madison Cawthorn says strict gun control laws won't stop mass shootings