Would Jesus Buy an Automatic Assault Weapon?

From Dr. Charles Negy in the Huffington Post Religion section…

Assuming my speculation is accurate — that gun zealots in the U.S. tend to be religious and conservative — I wonder if they ever pause to ask themselves what would Jesus do in reaction to the sporadic, yet persistent incidents of violence in the country. In addition to advocating for more peace, compassion and assistance for those who are disadvantaged, would Jesus advocate for better gun control and a reduction of gun ownership as ways to mitigate violence? Or would he advocate rushing out to purchase more guns, including automatic assault weapons? I wonder if Jesus would encourage all citizens to carry concealed weapons, or if he would propose that school teachers be permitted to possess guns in the classrooms?

I don’t think it’s a useful exercise to claim your perspective in line with the perspective of Jesus too often, but I think some of these questions are important. I’ve found the question “What is the Christian response?” to be divisive, but perhaps “What is a Christian response?” is valid. I just see a significant disconnect between harping on supposed Second Amendment rights and the Gospel. Rationally, I don’t see why anyone needs an assault weapon and I have no problem at all in making them increasingly more difficult to obtain … but do your religious convictions play a role at all in where you fall on this issue, as well?  

Is the question, “Would Jesus buy an automatic assault weapon?” a valid one? What’s the answer and what impact does that have on our lives and policy-making?