Hardly reliable. Read more. Clinton has been persistent in calling attention to Mr. But she goes too far in portraying him as an ally of the National Rifle Association during his time in Congress, where he first served in the House and now serves in the Senate.
Sanders has certainly cast votes that have upset advocates of gun control. But his overall record on legislation related to guns is not one-sided in the manner that Mrs. Clinton suggested. In the s, he voted against the Brady Bill, which required background checks on gun purchases. His campaign has said he supported requiring background checks, but voted in opposition because of the five-day waiting period it imposed on handgun purchases. He also voted in favor of legislation in that broadly protects gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits.
On the other hand, in , Mr. Sanders voted in favor of banning assault weapons. And in , after the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. The N. Sanders to be a model lawmaker. When he ran for re-election to the Senate in , the group gave him a D-minus rating. Her stance hasn't been that clear-cut. Clinton bristled at his statement, and the candidates proceeded to talk over each other. But Mrs. Clinton said more guns brought into New York and used in crimes come from Vermont, on a per capita basis, than any other state.
Accurate, but misleading. Clinton has long gone after Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for his mixed record on gun control. Sanders has noted the rural nature of his home state, which has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country. On Monday, Mrs. Clinton held a campaign event on Long Island on the subject of gun violence, and highlighted the number of guns coming into New York from Vermont that wind up being used in crimes.
In , 55 guns recovered by law enforcement in New York were found to have originated in Vermont, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That works out to about 8. It is worth noting that those numbers are imperfect; as the A. But looking at the total number of guns that were traced to different states, rather than a per capita figure, offers a much different picture of how guns flow across borders into New York.
