Ellison, a Libertarian who is expected to be the party's candidate in the November midterm election, said he had settled on pump-action shotguns for practicality purposes.

"Frankly I think the ideal weapon would be a pistol," he told the Guardian, "but due to the licensing requirements in the state we're going to have a hard enough time getting homeless people shotguns as it is. "Getting them pistols is probably next to impossible. The pistols need to be registered, people have to have addresses." [...]

Regarding the pump-action shotguns, Ellison said he and his team would aim to "pre-qualify" homeless people who wanted shotguns and were deemed suitable candidates to own them.

The homeless people would not be forced to carry pump-action shotguns, Ellison said. [...]

Ellison said he did not think the plan was dangerous.

"Well, are you worried about the police being armed with military weapons?" he asked. "I am. The world we live in is a scary world, where the police who used to dress in short-sleeved shirts and carry a revolver now have long rifles with scopes and bulletproof vests and armoured vehicles.

"And quite frankly that scares me much more than a homeless person trying to defend themselves with a shotgun."

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