Sanders: ‘I Don’t Accept’ I Have Been ‘Weak’ on Gun Control
TAPPER: “Another horrific news story took place in Roanoke, Virginia, Wednesday morning, with the shooting of those two individuals with the local news station.”
SANDERS: “Terrible.”
TAPPER: “Your Democratic rivals have been arguing that, when it comes to guns, you are out of step with liberal and progressive primary voters on the issue of gun control. A surrogate for Hillary Clinton, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy, he went to New Hampshire and said that your gun votes had been driven by ‘political expediency,’ and that this is a dividing line between you and Hillary Clinton. Your response?”
SANDERS: “Well, let me tell you, I have, as I understand it, a lifetime voting record from the NRA of D-minus. D-minus. I voted very strongly for instant background checks. I want to see them made stronger, probably the most important thing that we can do. Number two, I voted in a state, by the way, Jake, which has almost no gun control, not an easy vote -- I voted against the NRA, and I voted to ban certain types of semiautomatic weapons. I voted to eliminate this gun show loophole which allows people to purchase guns without a background check. And, by the way, in addition to that, what I believe is, we need to do a lot, lot better job in terms of mental health in this country. People call my office, they call offices all over this country, and say, you know, my brother, my husband, I'm really worried about what he might do to himself or other people. We do not have the capability of treating those folks. When people have mental health issues, when they're a threat to others or themselves, they should be able to get counseling immediately. That is not the case right now. So, I do not accept the fact that I have been weak on this issue. In fact, I have been strong on this issue. 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.”
