Maine Democrat calls his earlier opposition to an assault weapons ban a mistake after Lewiston shootings

In a reversal, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine said he now supports a ban on assault-style rifles following shootings this week in his home state that left at least 18 people dead.

During a news conference Thursday, Golden discussed his previous stance on legislation largely backed by fellow Democrats that would prohibit assault weapons and said he was wrong to oppose those measures.

“I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” Golden said.

“The time has now 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 in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine."

Golden said his past reluctance to support such a ban stemmed in part from a desire to protect his family, “a false confidence that our community was above this,” and what he said were “many other misjudgments.”

Golden was one of five Democrats who voted against an assault weapons ban bill passed by the House last year. The Democratic-led Senate has not taken up the measure, in part to avoid putting vulnerable Democrats in a tough spot ahead of the 2024 election when Republicans are hoping to win control of the chamber.

First elected to Congress in 2018, Golden represents a congressional District that former President Donald Trump carried in 2016 and 2020. Golden won re-election last year with 53% of the vote.

Thursday's news conference included remarks from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who called it a “dark day” and said that the deadly shootings at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston were the “worst mass shooting that the state of Maine has ever experienced — and could ever imagine.”

Asked whether she would support an assault weapons ban, Collins told reporters: "I think it is more important that we ban very high capacity magazines."

Collins noted her earlier support for an assault weapons ban when she backed the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. She later opposed an expansion effort.

Police named Robert Card, 40, a firearms instructor and an Army reservist, as a suspect and an arrest warrant on murder charges has been issued. He remains at large.

The assault rifle-style weapon he is alleged to have used was purchased legally this year, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Thursday that President Joe Biden had stepped out of a state dinner Wednesday to speak with Golden, Collins and Maine Gov. Janet Mills.

Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to send legislation to his desk banning assault weapons. He echoed that call on Thursday.

“Today, in the wake of yet another tragedy, I urge Republican lawmakers in Congress to fulfill their duty to protect the American people. Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to enact universal background checks, to require safe storage of guns, and end immunity from liability for gun manufacturers,” Biden said.

“This is the very least we owe every American who will now bear the scars — physical and mental — of this latest attack.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com