I’m sincerely happy to see Senator Sanders shift ever so slightly on his 2005 gun immunity vote. Though he still won’t call his vote a “mistake”— a vote hailed by the NRA as the ‘most significant piece of pro-gun legislation in 20 years.’ Reversing his position on the eve of the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucus is the type of calculating political behavior Clinton would be demonized for.
The Democratic debate is in Charleston, South Carolina. A state Clinton leads due in large part to minority voters. Senator Sanders must take minority voters from Clinton in order to win the Democratic nomination. Currently, gun violence plagues minority communities:
June 17, 2015: 9 people were killed by Dylann Roof at the historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Senator Sanders voted for the Charleston loophole:
“You know, there was a loophole, my opponent voted for it, Senator Sanders, that at the end of three days, business days, you get that gun whether they have finished the background check or not. The killer in Charleston who brought that gun, if they had just spent a little more time, it would’ve been discovered, he should not have been able to buy the gun, because he had a federal record.”~Hillary Rodham Clinton
Clinton’s statement was giving the elusive Geppetto Checkmark for being 100% accurate:
While Sanders did not specifically vote for a three-day period, he did vote for an even shorter one-day window. As a result of the amendment he supported in the House, the seven-day window was erased by the instant background system and the time allowed for extensive background checks that emerged from House-Senate negotiations was just three days.
Then Sanders ended up voting against requiring any background checks at all.
Would Hillary have been accused of being insincere for reversing positions on the eve of a debate? Would Hillary have been accused of pandering to voters?
Unfortunately for Bernie Sanders, he has no credibility on this issue. He has stubbornly stuck to his position throughout the entire campaign, citing his “D-” grade from the NRA. But that simply isn’t good enough:
- Senator Sanders voted AGAINST President Clinton’s Brady Bill 5 times
- Senator Sanders voted to give the gun industry immunity in 2005
- Senator Sanders voted for the Charleston Loophole, which led to 9 African American deaths in Charleston, South Carolina
Bernie has consistently used Vermont as an excuse for giving immunity to the gun lobby. Unfortunately, fellow Vermont Senator Leahy voted with Clinton and Obama AGAINST making the gun industry the only industry in America with immunity. Given the way Vermont Senator Leahy voted, using Vermont is nothing more than an excuse for standing in lockstep with the America’s most powerful special interest group — the NRA:
However, now that Bernie needs minority votes in South Carolina, he has ever so slightly shifted his position on guns. But frankly, his record on guns is indefensible. He has consistently stood with the NRA, America’s most powerful and deadly special interest group. Bernie’s *debate-eve* flip-flop is a calculated, political move by Bernie Sanders to undermine Hillary Clinton with minority voters in South Carolina.
It appears Bernie Sanders has suffered from a dose of white privilege being from Vermont, not recognizing gun violence has been plaguing minority communities on a daily basis for decades. 30,000+ die a year and 90+ die a day from gun violence.
On the contrary, Hillary has consistently called for hunters to form a counter organization to the NRA, which was the driving force behind her criticism of Obama in 2008. Hillary’s Father was a gun-owner. But if anyone doubts her steadfast commitment to ending gun violence in America, The Brady Campaign endorsed her for President. The Brady Campaign remembers all the great work the Clintons did on behalf of gun violence in the 1990s, signing The Brady Bill while Bernie voted for the Charleston Loophole.
Either Clinton has effectively moved Bernie on the issue of guns, showing she is better skilled to take on the GOP, or Bernie is coming to the realization he needs minority voters to have any shot at winning the nomination. His reversal on the eve of a debate in Charleston, South Carolina suggests the latter.
- Gun violence has plagued communities of color, which is why Trayvon Martin’s Mother endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
- Gun violence has plagued Americans through acts of local terrorism, which is why The Brady Campaign endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
- Gun violence has plagued our elected officials, why is why Gabby Gifford endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
- Gun violence has plagued Planned Parenthood employees, which is yet another reason why they endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
With only a few weeks to go, it is important we understand the distinct differences between the two candidates running for the Democratic nomination. Gun control, healthcare, and tax policy are substantive differences that deserve to be debated. Bernie’s gun reversal on the eve of the Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina is highly inauthentic and appears to be politically motivated. But he needs votes from people like Trayvon Martin’s Mother.
Maybe he’s shifting into the very type of politician he pretends not to be?