Hillary Clinton came out swinging Sunday night on the issue of gun control and tried to tie her presidential primary rival Sen. Bernard Sanders to the gun industry.
At the party’s last primary forum before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Sanders simply doesn’t have credibility on guns.
“He has voted with the NRA, with the gun lobby, numerous times,” she said. “He voted for immunity for gun makers and sellers … There is no industry in America that was given the total pass the gunmakers and gun dealers were, and that needs to be reversed.”
Mrs. Clinton praised Mr. Sanders for changing his position on lawsuit immunity for gun manufacturers. In 2005, Mr. Sanders supported a bill to shield gun companies from liability, but he said over the weekend he’ll support a bill to eliminate that immunity.
At the debate, he said his campaign “will support stronger provisions.” He also said Mrs. Clinton is politicizing the issue.
“This should not be a political issue,” he said. “What we should be doing is working together, and, by the way, as a senator from a rural state that has virtually no gun control, I believe I am in an excellent position to bring people together.”
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Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Sanders has led the Democratic Party on the issue of gun control.
“They’ve both been inconsistent when it comes to this issue,” he said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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