Democratic presidential hopeful and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has made proposals for tough new gun-control laws a cornerstone of his campaign, on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of “shameless pandering to the National Rifle Association.”
In a fundraising email to supporters, Mr. O’Malley sounded an alarm about the GOP presidential front-runner’s plan to expand firearms rights, including issuing national concealed carry permits and revoking bans on military-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips.
“This is, quite honestly, reckless and irresponsible,” wrote Mr. O’Malley, who is mired at 1 percent or 2 percent in the polls and struggling for attention from voters.
“His proposal is just shameless pandering to the National Rifle Association — one of the most powerful special interest lobbies in the country,” he said. “The only thing on which we agree is that our country has a problem with gun violence. But, unlike Donald Trump, I know that the only way to combat gun violence is by standing up to the NRA and implementing comprehensive gun safety laws.”
As governor, Mr. O’Malley signed some of the toughest gun laws in the country, including fingerprinting of gun buyers and bans on military-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips. He has vowed that, if elected president, he would make those and other gun-control measures federal law.
Mr. Trump has said that the focus of fighting gun violence should be on stopping illegal firearms trafficking and getting mentally disturbed people into treatment.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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