Today, Hillary Clinton talked to community leaders and family members of gun violence victims in Wisconsin about putting into place comprehensive background checks, holding gun manufacturers accountable, and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic abusers, and the mentally ill so that communities are better protected from senseless gun violence.
Americans deserve a candidate for President who will stand up to the gun manufacturers and put into place important protections for the sake of our communities, not repeatedly stand with Republicans and the gun lobby.
We know where Republicans stand on guns–they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the NRA. And Bernie Sanders stands right there with them on issues like instant background checks and waiting periods for those looking to buy guns.
Bernie Sanders has voted against the Brady Bill multiple times and has repeatedly said that gun control will not solve the problem of gun violence. He even voted to create the Charleston loophole that allowed Dylann Roof to obtain a gun. And Sanders has sided with the gun manufacturing industry over victims of gun violence, which is why the NRA endorsed Sanders’ position on gun manufacturer liability.
But don’t just take it from us. Check out Sanders’ positions.
SANDERS SOUNDS LIKE THE NRA
GUN CONTROL DOESN’T WORK
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The NRA |
Bernie Sanders |
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The NRA: “Expanding background checks… will not prevent the next shooting.” “Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. While the overwhelming rejection of President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg’s ‘universal’ background check agenda is a positive development, we have a broken mental health system that is not going to be fixed with more background checks at gun shows. The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedies in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson. We need a serious and meaningful solution that addresses crime in cities like Chicago, addresses mental health deficiencies, while at the same time protecting the rights of those of us who are not a danger to anyone. President Obama should be as committed to dealing with the gang problem that is tormenting honest people in his hometown as he is to blaming law-abiding gun owners for the acts of psychopathic murderers.” [Statement from the NRA Regarding Toomey-Manchin Background Check Proposal, 4/10/13] The NRA: “Waiting periods and other laws delaying handgun purchases have never reduced crime.” “Waiting periods and other laws delaying handgun purchases have never reduced crime. Historically, most states with such laws have had higher violent crime rates than other states and have been more likely to have violent crime and murder rates higher than national rates.” [NRA-ILA document, accessed 7/15/15] |
Bernie Sanders: “Anyone who has any illusions that gun control will cause a significant dent in the very serious problem of crime is mistaken.” “People who believe gun control will slow down the increasing violence in America are wrong, Vermont’s Congressman said Sunday. ‘Anyone who has any illusions that gun control will cause a significant dent in the very serious problem of crime is mistaken,’ said representative Bernard Sanders, I-Vt.” [Rutland Herald, 10/28/91] Bernie Sanders: [handgun purchase waiting periods don’t address] “the root causes of crime and violence.” “Sanders also said a handgun waiting period would not get at what he called ‘the root causes of crime and violence’ – poverty, poor education and lack of police protection and programs designed to keep young people out of trouble.” [Times Argus, 3/31/91] 2013: Bernie Sanders: “If you passed the strongest gun control legislation tomorrow, I don’t think it will have a profound effect on the tragedies we have seen.” “That could be because Sanders — who first won election to the U.S. House when the National Rifle Association targeted his Republican opponent — has largely opposed federal firearm laws, calling gun control an issue for states to decide. His position seemed to shift in January, when he intimated in a written statement that he’d support federal bans on assault weapons and high-capacity clips proposed by Obama. But in last week’s interview, he seemed to back away again from such measures, saying, ‘If you passed the strongest gun control legislation tomorrow, I don’t think it will have a profound effect on the tragedies we have seen.’ Asked whether he’d vote for an assault-weapons ban if it reached the Senate floor, he said, ‘We’ll see. We’ll see what other things it is part of.’” [Seven Days, 3/13/13] |
INSTANT BACKGROUND CHECKS
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The NRA |
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Wayne LaPierre: “We’ve always supported instant background checks.” “At the time of the ad purchase, the NRA was treading carefully on background checks. The group supported the concept, so long as there was no user fee associated with it. It opposed legislation that would allow the government to retain information gleaned from background checks, and pushed for a short time period for the checks. ‘We’ve always supported instant background checks,’ LaPierre declared at a Friends of NRA banquet in South Carolina in May 1999, according to a newspaper archive search. ‘We say if it’s a legitimate gun show — and we define a gun show as 10 or more exhibitors — you have to draw the line somewhere, and I think that’s a — the best way you can draw the line — then we support the check,’ LaPierre said a month later during an interview on Fox News. Asked by the host whether the NRA was protecting gun shows, LaPierre said, ‘That’s ridiculous … I mean, the fact is that we’re supporting the bill in the Senate … that provides a check on every sale at every gun show, no loopholes at all.’” [Huffington Post, 1/31/13] |
Bernie Sanders: “I have supported from day one the instant background check.” “HOLT: Senator Sanders, last week Secretary Clinton called you quote, “a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby.” Right before the debate you changed your position on immunity from lawsuits for gun manufacturers, can you tell us why? SANDERS: Well, I think Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. I was in 1988, there were three candidates running for congress in the state of Vermont, I stood up to the gun lobby and came out and maintained the position that in this country we should not be selling military style assault weapons. I have supported from day one the instant background check to make certain that people who should have guns do not have guns. And that includes people of criminal backgrounds, people who are mentally unstable. I support what President Obama is doing in terms of trying to close the gun show loop holes and I think it should be a federal crime if people act as dormant (ph).” [Transcript, New York Times via Federal News Service, Democratic Presidential Debate, 1/17/16] |
WAITING PERIODS
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The NRA |
Bernie Sanders |
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NRA-ILA spokesman: “[waiting periods are] nothing but a needless burden on law-abiding gun owners.” “The National Rifle Association scored another victory for gun rights today when the Wisconsin Assembly passed NRA-backed legislation eliminating a 48-hour waiting period on all point-of-sale handgun purchases in the state. Senate Bill (SB) 35 passed by a voice vote and is headed to the Governor Scott Walker’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law. ‘This important measure marks the end of an antiquated law that’s served as nothing but a needless burden on law-abiding gun owners in the Badger state,’ said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. ‘We applaud the state legislature for making the preservation of Second Amendment rights a priority.’” [NRA-ILA, 6/9/15] |
Bernie Sanders: “[Waiting periods would mean individuals] get[ting] caught up in a bureaucracy when all they wanted to do was go for target practice or something.” “Sanders said Friday he thinks there is a difference between a one-day check and a seven-day check. The longer period could mean a person ‘would get caught up in a bureaucracy when all they wanted to do was go for target practice or something.’’’ [Burlington Free Press, 3/30/91] |
GUN CONTROL: BERNIE SANDERS HAS VOTED LIKE A REPUBLICAN
Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill multiple times
May 1991: Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill mandating a seven-day waiting period for background checks that passed the House. [H R 7, Vote # 83, 5/8/91]
November 1991: Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill mandating a five-day waiting period for background checks that passed in the House. [H R 3371, Vote #443, 11/26/91]
November 1993: Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill mandating a five-day waiting period for background checks that passed in the House. [H R 1025, Vote #564, 11/10/93]
November 1993: Bernie Sanders voted against the final version of the Brady Bill mandating a five-day waiting period for background checks that was signed into law. [H R 1025, Vote #614, 11/22/93]
Sanders voted to create the Charleston Loophole
Bernie Sanders voted for the Gekas Amendment to the Brady Bill. On November 10, 1993, Bernie Sanders supported a Rep. Gekas, R-Pa., amendment to sunset the five-day waiting period five years after enactment. A majority of House Democrats opposed the proposal. Adopted 236-198: R 139-36; D 96-162; I 1-0. [H.Amdt.390 to H.R. 1025, Vote #559, 11/10/93; CQ Floor Votes, 11/10/93]
The Gekas amendment created a “default proceed” loophole to allow a gun to be purchased if a background check did not return a result within one business day. “(ii) 1 business day (as defined in subsection (s)(8)(B)) has elapsed since the end of the business day on which the licensee contacted the system, and the system has not notified the licensee that the receipt of the handgun by such other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section or any State or local law.” [H.Amdt.390 to H.R.1025, Vote #559, 11/10/1993]
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Following negotiations in the Senate, the Gekas Amendment created a three-day time limit for background checks in the final version of the Brady bill. “His amendment was initially rejected, but when he tweaked it slightly and requested a floor vote on November 10, 1993, it passed the House 238 to 192, with 122 Republicans and 84 Democrats voting ‘aye.’ The full Brady bill passed the House later that day. When the Senate took up the legislation, lawmakers were faced with Gekas’s one-business-day time limit, which would go into effect five years after Brady’s enactment, along with the instant check system. But after further maneuvering in the Senate, the investigation period was raised to three days.” [The Trace, 7/21/15]
The three-day default proceed loophole allowed Dylann Roof to obtain a gun. “Mr. Roof exploited the three-day waiting time that has allowed thousands of prohibited buyers to legally purchase firearms over the past decade — and some of those weapons were ultimately used in crimes, according to court records and government documents.” [New York Times, 7/11/15]
Bernie Sanders voted against an amendment to restore CDC funding to research firearm use
Bernie Sanders voted against the Lowey-Castle amendment. On July 11, 1996, Bernie Sanders opposed a Rep. Lowey, D-N.Y., amendment to provide an additional $2.6 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to fund research at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control on issues related to firearms use and to reduce by an equal amount the $3.1 billion in funding for health resources and services. A majority of House Democrats supported the proposal. Rejected 158-263: R 36-193; D 122-69; I 0-1. [H.Amdt.1256 to H.R.3755, Vote #302, 7/11/96; CQ Floor Votes, 7/11/96]
Sanders Voted to shield gun makers from lawsuits following gun related crimes in 2003 and 2005
Sanders voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) which, “shields gun makers and dealers from most liability when their firearms are used criminally.” “But Sanders’ vote for a different kind of pro-gun bill is more puzzling—and profoundly disturbing. In 2005, a Republican-dominated Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This law doesn’t protect gun owners; it protects gun manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers. The PLCAA was the No. 1 legislative priority of the National Rifle Association for years, because it shields gun makers and dealers from most liability when their firearms are used criminally. It is one of the most noxious pieces of pro-gun legislation ever passed. And Bernie Sanders voted for it.” (Sanders’ campaign has not replied to a request for comment.)’ [Slate, 5/6/15, House Roll Call 534, 10/20/05]
2003: Bernie Sanders voted for the 2003 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms (PLCAA). House Vote 124 – HR 1036: Gun Liability – Passage April 09, 2003 – Passage of the bill that would block liability lawsuits against gunmakers and sellers based on the criminal misuse of firearms. It also would block such actions against gun trade organizations and against ammunition makers and sellers. The measure would apply immediately to any pending cases. Several specific exceptions to the ban exist and include allowing civil suits against a maker or seller who ‘knowingly and willfully violated’ state or federal laws in selling or marketing a weapon. Design and manufacturing defect lawsuits also would be allowed when weapons are ‘used as intended.’ Passed 285-140: R 221-3; D 63-137; I 1-0. [CQ Vote Report: House Vote 124, 4/9/03]