Hillary Clinton hit Democratic rival Bernie Sanders Tuesday night on the sensitive issue of gun control by saying he isn’t tough enough to curb gun violence, and as evidence, he pointed to his record in the Senate, where Sanders voted against legislation to mandate federal background checks on firearm purchases.
“No, not at all,” Clinton said when asked if Sanders was “tough enough” on the issue. “I think that we have to look at the fact that we lose 90 people a day from gun violence. This has gone on too long, and it’s time that the entire country stood up against the NRA.”
“The majority of our country supports background checks, even the majority of gun owners do. Sen. Sanders did vote five times against the Brady bill,” Clinton argued. “Since it was passed, more that two million prohibited purchases have been prevented. He also did vote, as he said, for the immunity provision. I voted against it, I was in the Senate the same time. It wasn’t that complicated to me.”
Clinton said it was “pretty straightforward” to her that the bill in question would give immunity to the gun industry, something she couldn’t support.
“Everybody else has to be accountable, but not the gun manufacturers, and we need to stand up and say enough of that,” Clinton said. “We’re not going to let it continue.”
