Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday defended his record on guns, which has come under scrutiny in the wake of the shooting death of two Virginia journalists.
While campaigning for Hillary Clinton last week, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) said that Clinton’s “position among the Democrats is a lot more popular than his position” on gun control, referring to Sanders.
On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, host Jake tapper asked the senator to respond to Malloy’s comment.
Sanders emphasized that he has a lifetime D- grade with the NRA and said that he supports stronger background checks.
“I do not accept the fact that I have been weak on this issue. In fact, I have been strong on this issue,” he told Tapper. “And in fact, coming from a rural state which has almost no gun control, I think I can get beyond the noise and all of these arguments and people shouting at each other, and come up with real, constructive gun control legislation which most significantly gets guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.”
The senator also noted that he has voted to ban some semi-automatic weapons and that he believes the U.S. needs better mental health care.
Watch part of Sanders’ interview via CNN:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Bernie knows that the Founding Fathers did NOT have a standing military or national or coast guard when they wrote the 2nd Amendment. He also knows that the country faced a real (not like today’s imagined boogie men in every closet) threat from a nation power off our shores - that being Great Britain. Bernie also knows the founding fathers only knew of black powder muskets…the weapons of that era.
A well regulated militia was made oup of citizen volunteers…because the Union did NOT have the money to fund a standing army. Today, we have the largest standing army in the entire world!
Time for a change…time to get all these unregulated guns and untrained citizens with guns under control! Over 36,000 gun violence and related deaths per year! No wonder the local police want armored vehicles - the Republicans and the NRA have turned our neighborhoods into war zones!
Have you seen the gun control commercial where the guy walks into the office with a black powder musket, fires at someone and misses, then begins the lengthy process of reloading while the other members of the office calmly leave?
I love that.
Sir you deserve nothing less than a D, congratulations! Good luck Mr. Sanders.
He has a mixed record and often hides behind his state as to why.
I think we should remember that if you believe the Second Amendment preserves the right to own a weapon and that it limits the Government from infringing on that right that alone is not enough to get you a good grade with the NRA. If you believe you should not be restricted from owning a weapon if you are a law abiding citizen in good mental health that won’t cut it with the NRA either. In order to get a A with the NRA you have to support the crazy stuff, guns in bars, armor piercing ammunition, automatic weapons, open carry anywhere, shooting to kill if you “feel” in danger, no background checks and sales to anyone with the money. If you don’t do that you get a poor grade with the NRA.
The NRA claims to have 5 million members ( that after offering free associate memberships ) which would mean 1.6 % of the American people are members and about 5 or so % of firearm owners. That makes them nobody.
There are 12 million Muslims in the USA, 42 million Blacks, 54 million Hispanics and about 150 million women. The NRA represents 5 % ( at best…probably 2.8 % in reality ) so Bernie should take that path?