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Why Bernie Sanders, Alleged Gun Moderate, Gets a D-Minus from the NRA (July 2015)
.........It seems Sanders, for his part, ran afoul of the organization in 1994, when he voted for a bill that would have banned 19 varieties of semiautomatic assault weapons. According to Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist, voting in favor of banning any kind of firearm is, in the eyes of the NRA, unredeemable. “Unless you vote the other way later on,” he adds. Case in point: John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio who is seeking the presidential nomination for his party. While serving in Congress during the 1990s, he voted for an assault-weapon ban, which earned him an F for the decade. Later, though, Kasich reversed course and said the ban was a mistake. He now rates an A-.
Sanders, meanwhile, has taken stands that can only further hurt his score. In 2013, he voted for an expansive ban on assault weapons and came out in favor of universal background checks.
On Sunday, Sanders sought the middle ground in an interview on CNN. “We need a sensible debate about gun control,” he said. “Folks who do not like guns are fine, but we have millions of gun owners in this country who are law-abiding citizens.”
His statement would seem to echo the culture of Vermont, a state with a high rate of gun ownership and minimal gun laws. But gun owners in his home state, much like the NRA, don’t believe he speaks for them. Ed Cutler, president of the Gun Owners of Vermont, the state’s largest gun lobbying group, says, “We have 4,000 members, and I can only think of one person who is for Sanders.”
http://www.thetrace.org/2015/07/why-bernie-sanders-alleged-gun-moderate-gets-a-d-minus-from-the-nra/
Sanders, meanwhile, has taken stands that can only further hurt his score. In 2013, he voted for an expansive ban on assault weapons and came out in favor of universal background checks.
On Sunday, Sanders sought the middle ground in an interview on CNN. “We need a sensible debate about gun control,” he said. “Folks who do not like guns are fine, but we have millions of gun owners in this country who are law-abiding citizens.”
His statement would seem to echo the culture of Vermont, a state with a high rate of gun ownership and minimal gun laws. But gun owners in his home state, much like the NRA, don’t believe he speaks for them. Ed Cutler, president of the Gun Owners of Vermont, the state’s largest gun lobbying group, says, “We have 4,000 members, and I can only think of one person who is for Sanders.”
http://www.thetrace.org/2015/07/why-bernie-sanders-alleged-gun-moderate-gets-a-d-minus-from-the-nra/
Also see~
Bernie Sanders Terrifies The NRA With Consensus Plan To Reduce Mass Shootings(Oct 2015)
Like the rest of the nation, I am appalled by gun violence in our country and the mass shootings in our churches and colleges,” Sanders said. “While there is no simple fix, that does not mean we should do nothing. The status quo clearly is not working and people on both sides of this issue cannot simply continue shouting at each other. Nobody wants more mass killings and serious people are going to have to engage in serious discussion.”
In my view, there are very concrete steps we can take to lessen the number of tragedies and to make those that happen less lethal, including ideas supported by a majority of gun owners.
Sanders went on to detail some of the steps:
– We must strengthen and better enforce the instant background check system.
– We must close the gun-show loophole, which allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns to people who otherwise would not be able to get them.
– We must make ‘straw man’ purchases a federal crime.
– We must ban semi-automatic assault weapons which are designed strictly for killing human beings.
– We must recognize that our mental health system is seriously broken. While there has been much talk about mental health parity in our health care system, we are not even close to achieving it. It’s past time for a serious discussion about identifying, intervening and treating mental illness and ensuring access to care.
The Sanders campaign also noted that their candidate has a (D-) rating from the NRA.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/10/05/bernie-sanders-terrifies-nra-consensus-plan-reduce-mass-shootings.html
Like the rest of the nation, I am appalled by gun violence in our country and the mass shootings in our churches and colleges,” Sanders said. “While there is no simple fix, that does not mean we should do nothing. The status quo clearly is not working and people on both sides of this issue cannot simply continue shouting at each other. Nobody wants more mass killings and serious people are going to have to engage in serious discussion.”
In my view, there are very concrete steps we can take to lessen the number of tragedies and to make those that happen less lethal, including ideas supported by a majority of gun owners.
Sanders went on to detail some of the steps:
– We must strengthen and better enforce the instant background check system.
– We must close the gun-show loophole, which allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns to people who otherwise would not be able to get them.
– We must make ‘straw man’ purchases a federal crime.
– We must ban semi-automatic assault weapons which are designed strictly for killing human beings.
– We must recognize that our mental health system is seriously broken. While there has been much talk about mental health parity in our health care system, we are not even close to achieving it. It’s past time for a serious discussion about identifying, intervening and treating mental illness and ensuring access to care.
The Sanders campaign also noted that their candidate has a (D-) rating from the NRA.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/10/05/bernie-sanders-terrifies-nra-consensus-plan-reduce-mass-shootings.html
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