Sanders says he could support banning some weapons, universal background checks

[DonViejo]

Source: Washington Post

NEW ORLEANS -- Last week’s mass shooting in a Louisiana movie theater has prompted renewed attention on presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders’s record on gun control, an area where his rivals for the Democratic nomination think he is vulnerable with liberal activists.

Sanders, who is campaigning in Louisiana this weekend, was pressed about his record by reporters Saturday night and again Sunday morning during an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” In both cases, Sanders -- who voted against the landmark Brady bill in 1993 but said he could support universal background checks for gun purchasers today -- argued that he could help the nation find common ground.

“I think I am in a good position to reach out to urban American and rural America,” said Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who was backed by the gun lobby in his first successful run for Congress. He told the audience at a statewide gathering of the Louisiana Democratic Party that people on both sides of the issue need to “stop shouting at each other and come up with sensible legislation.”

Sanders was the only 2016 hopeful to speak in person at the party dinner, but both Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley appeared in pre-recorded videos shortly before Sanders spoke. O’Malley devoted most of his message to the tragedy in Lafayette, which left two people dead and nine injured. The shooter also took his own life.

-snip-


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/26/sanders-says-he-could-support-banning-some-weapons-universal-background-checks/?tid=hpModule_f8335a3c-868c-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z8

[EX500rider]

1. "ban some weapons..."

“Second of all, I believe that we need to make sure that certain types of guns used to kill people, exclusively, not for hunting, they should not be sold in the United States of America,” Sanders said"

So someone uses a semi-automatic pistol to kill people and he wants to ban some scary looking rifles? (I assume)

Pistols kill around 9,000 people every year. Rifles of all types around 300 to 400.

[kacekwl]

2. This country will NEVER

be able to ban handguns period. His point I believe is to have sane discussions about ideas of what can acctualy be done about the problem. Not a simple solution I'm afraid.

[pnwmom]

9. How do you draw that conclusion? He wouldn't be banning hunting rifles. That's what he said.

Assault weapons aren't supposed to be used for hunting.

[EX500rider]

14. My point was that won't make a dent in the murder rate...

.....if ALL rifles kill 300+ people a year, how many do "assault rifles" as a subsection of that kill?

Which by the way "assault rifles" are indeed used for hunting.

Pistols do over 90% of the killing with firearms.

[Telcontar]

32. AR chambered for 7.62 is an excellent hunting rifle

Optics and 30 rnd magazine - cause that's how I learned to shoot and like the hand position

[hack89]

35. ARs make excellent hunting rifles

semiautomatic rifles have been used in for hunting for decades.

[cosmicone]

3. "could support" is not "would support" -- politician speak. n/t

[George II]

5. Precisely! Slightly off-topic but Hillary Clinton has said several of times that she...

...agrees and supports those working for a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers, but Sanders followers insist that until she says "I want a $15 an hour minimum wage" she isn't in favor of it.

Funny how that turns around, eh?

[hughee99]

17. It's funny because after 20+ years of listening to the people defend the Clintons' words with

"that's not exactly what they said" people have come to distrust them when they don't explicitly say something clearly and unambiguously.

[think]

25. He voted for the Assault Weapons Ban in 2013:

Sanders Votes for Background Checks, Assault Weapons Ban

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

WASHINGTON, April 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today voted for expanded background checks on gun buyers and for a ban on assault weapons but the Senate rejected those central planks of legislation inspired by the shootings of 20 first-grade students and six teachers in Newtown, Conn.

“Nobody believes that gun control by itself is going to end the horrors we have seen in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., Tucson, Ariz. and other American communities,” Sanders said. “There is a growing consensus, however, in Vermont and across America that we have got to do as much as we can to end the cold-blooded, mass murders of innocent people. I believe very strongly that we also have got to address the mental health crisis in our country and make certain that help is available for people who may be a danger to themselves and others,” Sanders added.

The amendment on expanded background checks needed 60 votes to pass but only 54 senators voted for it. “To my mind it makes common sense to keep these weapons out of the hands of people with criminal records or mental health histories,” Sanders said....

Source:
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-votes-for-background-checks-assault-weapons-ban

Description of the Assault Weapons Ban:

Summaries for Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

The legislation bans the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of:

All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature (e.g. pistol grip, detachable stock, grenade launcher).

All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature (e.g. threaded barrel, a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm).

All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

All ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
157 specifically-named firearms.

Source:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s150/summary

[George II]

4. Woo hoo!!! That's magnanimous of him!

[heaven05]

6. Tweaking his campaign meesage

and priorities. That's what a winning campaign does. Slowly they will end up having the candidate a lot of people will be proud to vote for. I will still have my issues of course, some good people have been lost here because of the open racism and bias shown by some of his supporters. Been dealing with this type of duplicity all my political life, disgusting and non forgivable. I've lost good people who contributed much in the way of wise counsel and advice. They are critical thinkers that have been dissed by some here, who's entitlement and privilege blinded them to reality.

[kjones]

33. "Tweaking his campaign message..."

Some would call that "evolving," or "playing politics," or "compromising"...."selling out."
Haven't those been bad words around here recently?


I'm confused what the rules are around here lately.

[heaven05]

34. all those descriptions, possibly

and to take exception with your word, "selling out", to whom? #Black Lives Matter? Evolving, I damn well hope so and HRC also, which I just am not able to believe. HRC knows how to play politics, compromise and don't get me started on "selling out".

[99th_Monkey]

7. Pulling out the stops

I'm loving this.

[magical thyme]

8. "Could support?" Sanders has already supported banning "some" weapons and has already

asserted that he would like to ban any weapons that are intended for killing people.

"could support universal background checks for gun purchasers today"

He's already voted in favor of background checks, voted to keep the waiting period at 3 days (as opposed to shortening it to 1 day). Oh, and he's already on record as to wanting to close the gun show loophole (that enables them to skip the background checks).

[pnwmom]

10. But, unfortunately, he voted AGAINST the 1993 Brady bill and FOR the more recent PCLAA. n/t

[modestybl]

12. I'm more interested in how he voted in the last few years, rather than a generation ago....

... Sanders comes from a rural state with a high percentage of gun ownership. Amazingly, he actually represented his constituents. But he has also demonstrated a willingness to vote beyond the interests of his state in light of recent events. And to connect the divide between "gun rights" people and "gun safety" people (in quotes, because I don't think these are mutually exclusive), we have to talk sense to each other.

Bottom line is that a Pres. Sanders will sign any legislation that comes to his desk. The problem will be the Congress, whose membership votes against the wishes of >80% of the American population on this issue. Why? The MONEY. On this and so many other issue, we will be unable to move forward unless we push back against Citizens United.

[Igel]

19. The weapons intended for killing people are already banned.

They're the selective burst weapons that the military uses.

My brother owns some of these "weapons intended for killing people." In his 67 years, he's never, apparently, managed to use one of these weapons as intended and he's used guns for 49 of those years. And his lack of a death count isn't for lack of targets. Nor for lack of use. He has ammo; heck, he mixes his own powder and casts his own bullets. Still, somehow when he shoots those weapons all his manages to hit are paper or metal targets. In fact, he keeps them unloaded, partly dismantled, and under lock and key even when transporting them to where those targets are.

Now, some may think it's just that he's a bad marksman. On the other hand, he was silhouette shooting state champion in his class for a few years.

And he can probably get higher powered weapons if he wants. He's a federally licensed dealer and has been for, gosh, over 35 years.

Perhaps people failed to tell him what his intent was. I'll be sure to correct him on his true intent and motivations next time I see him.

[George II]

22. It is still legal to own a semi-automatic AK-47 in the US. That was designed to kill people.

[magical thyme]

28. that doesn't change what he has voted to ban or what he would ban if he could. nt

[George II]

29. He also sided with republicans in voting against the Brady Bill and........

....sided with republicans in voting FOR protection of gun manufacturers.

[magical thyme]

30. he had very good reasons for both of those votes. nt

[George II]

31. No doubt.................

[pnwmom]

11. I'm glad to hear that he's willing to reconsider gun control, since being President of the US

is NOT the same as representing a small, rural state like Vermont.

[iandhr]

13. Realized that his love of Kalashnikov's don't help much in a national Dem primary.

[onehandle]

15. There goes the gun nut vote...

...is what I would say if there was a chance in Hell a gun nut would vote for a Democrat.

[Devil Child]

16. Voted Democrat every election

Also could be called a "gun nut" especially by folks like you. So there is more than a chance in hell of us voting for a Democratic candidate, because there are many like me who are Democrats and vote as such.

Still voting for Sanders.

[Marengo]

24. Define "gun nut"

[Sunlei]

18. Thats good because the last gun banned by the USA government was a LONG time ago. To long.

Let one of the hunters tell us what gun this is and why it was 'banned'.

[jmowreader]

20. No need to ban that gun

Those hats, on the other hand...

[Adrahil]

21. It's a punt gun...

.... A very large shotgun used for commercial harvesting of waterfowl. It was banned by states in the late-19th and early-20th century due to depletion of waterfowl populations.

[petronius]

23. Are the guns banned, or just their use in 'hunting'?

Seems like it would be a pretty interesting curio and relic...

There's a video on this page, if you ever need to break 100+ clay pigeons in one go:

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/duck-cannon-past-punt-gun/

[Adrahil]

26. Good point.

Perhaps just in hunting? Dunno. I'll poke around.

[Sunlei]

27. what a cool video! I guess people can collect them just not kill and wound 100 ducks at a time.

They say a shotgun is the best for home defense, that gun would do the job.