Interviews during 2017-2019: on Gun Control
Gloria La Riva:
Support right of working class to own and bear arms
We recognize and support the right of the working class to own and bear arms.
We support community--based public training for gun owners."
Source: Socialist PSL Platform adopted by 2020 presidential hopeful
Aug 3, 2020
Jo Jorgensen:
Against new gun restrictions & lawsuits by gun victims
The candidate opposes additional restrictions for purchasing a gun.
She also opposes allowing victims of gun violence to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Source: KSL News Radio on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jul 5, 2020
Don Blankenship:
Repeal federal firearms legislation, end "Gun Free Zones"
We call for the repeal of all federal firearms legislation, beginning with Federal Firearms Act of 1968. We call for the rescinding of all executive orders, the prohibition of any future executive orders, and the prohibition of treaty ratification which
would in any way limit the right to keep and bear arms. To further ensure the safety of the American people and their families, we propose the elimination of all government designated "Gun Free Zones", including military bases.
Source: Constitution Platform adopted by 2020 presidential hopeful
May 2, 2020
Lincoln Chafee:
Distrust of government is reason for 2d Amendment advocacy
One of the issues he's been dinged for in the past by libertarians is gun control, but Chafee says he's come to think "the reason there is more advocacy for strong Second Amendment protections is distrust of our government, and that distrust is
legitimate." Chafee thinks mistrust of the government makes total sense, and he does "believe the authors of the Second Amendment wrote it with that in mind, and if there is distrust of government we want to have a well-regulated armed militia."
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 6, 2020
Lincoln Chafee:
Distrust of government is reason for 2nd Amendment
[On Iraq War]: "The biggest lie in American history," Chafee says, is that "Saddam [Hussein] had weapons of mass destruction and we invaded Iraq, and we are still there and it's getting worse." In the wake of a generation grown up dealing with the
effect of that lie, Chafee thinks, mistrust of the government makes total sense, and he does "believe the authors of the Second Amendment wrote it with that in mind, and if there is distrust of government we want to have a well-regulated armed militia."
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 6, 2020
Joe Walsh:
Kinderguardian satire: "Happy shooting, kids"
In 2018, Walsh appeared on Showtime's "Who is America?" The political satire has Walsh endorsing an "intensive 3-week Kinderguardian course" that "introduces specially selected children from 12 to 4 years old to pistols, rifles, semiautomatics, and a
rudimentary knowledge of mortars. In less than a month, a first-grader can become a first grenade-er." The video ends with Walsh saying, "Happy shooting, kids." Walsh claims that the show's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, tricked him into uttering those lines.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Oct 3, 2019
Bill de Blasio:
Project Fast Track focuses on gangs & illegal guns
In 2016, De Blasio helped launch a "gun violence prevention division" called Project Fast Track.
It increased the NYPD's capacity to investigate shootings, gangs and illegal guns, according to NYC.gov.
Source: Townhall.com: "The 2020 Democrats" (presidential hopefuls)
May 18, 2019
Seth Moulton:
Ban bump stocks; bar terrorists from gun purchases
He has introduced bipartisan bills to ban bump stocks
and to prevent suspected terrorists from obtaining firearms.
Source: CNN Town Hall with 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 23, 2019
Eric Swalwell:
Banning assault weapons does not mean broad gun ban
Swalwell said his call for a ban on assault weapons was not a step toward broader gun bans. "Keep your pistols,˙keep your long rifles, keep your shotguns." Swalwell said the ban would come with criminal consequences for people who did not participate in
the buy-back, but suggested an "alternative, which would be to keep them at a hunting club or a shooting range. It's not just the violence they've caused, it's the fear. I want to get rid of that fear."
Source: CNN Politics on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 19, 2019
Andrew Yang:
Treat guns the way we treat motor vehicles
I think that we should treat guns in a very similar way to the way we treat motor vehicles, where you have to get licensed and tested because vehicles can kill people, and firearms do the same thing. And we should be having
federal background checks around mental illness and criminal records and domestic violence. In parallel, I would invest in a massive mental health initiative, to address some of these incidents of gun violence before they happen.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 14, 2019
Julian Castro:
Sensible gun laws, and address mental health issues
I have been a strong supporter of commonsense gun reform. We need to make background checks universal. There's no reason that somebody who has committed domestic violence should ever get their hands on a gun. We also need to limit the capacity of
magazines.I also support looking at this issue of gun violence more broadly. We need to invest in mental health as part of health care. It's about things like mental health that touch on what leads people to use guns in a bad way.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 11, 2019
Jay Inslee:
Lost seat over assault weapons bill; confront NRA again
I've known that it is time to confront the NRA and develop commonsense gun legislation for a quarter of a century. In 1994, when I was a freshman legislator, I was representing eastern Washington.
We needed just a few votes to pass the assault weapon bill. And I knew if I cast that vote, I was probably going to lose my seat in Congress. I voted for that bill.
I provided one of the critical votes to get it over the top. I lost my seat. But I have never regretted that vote because I do not believe any congressman's or politician's seat is more important than any child's life.
We are not going to back up against the NRA. We have them on the run. This country's moving forward to commonsense gun legislation. I'm glad to be part of that.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 10, 2019
Pete Buttigieg:
Common sense gun control can work under Second Amendment
Q: Do you think the Second Amendment prevents gun control?A: We've already decided within the framework of the Second Amendment that we're going to draw a line somewhere, right? "Shall not be infringed" clearly doesn't mean that you're entitled
to a nuclear weapon. There are common sense limits that a thinking society can live by, while making sure that we honor the lifestyle of sporting and the idea that people should be equipped to defend themselves if they need to.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2019
Wayne Messam:
Opposed state law preventing discussion of gun control
Miramar joined ten other Florida cities to sue the state over 2011 law, which asserts that if a city does so much as call a meeting to discuss gun-control legislation, officials from that city face a $5,000 fee and could
be removed from office by the governor. "We can't even propose or even enact public safety measures in our respective communities," Messam said. "We think it's punitive, we think it's an overreach, and there needs to be a change."
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Mar 28, 2019
Cory Booker:
Consensus on common sense gun laws; ready to fight NRA
I am frustrated with politicians who all the best they can muster is to give thoughts and prayers. Gun-owners and non-gun owners agree that we need to have universal background checks and close so many of these loopholes. And the NRA
does not represent their membership, because their membership actually agrees with closing those loopholes. I am going to bring a fight like the NRA has never seen if they're going to defend corporate gun manufacturers more than represent the people.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Mar 27, 2019
John Hickenlooper:
Mental illness & weak gun laws both contribute to violence
On gun control: We made two decisions. One was we were going to begin to address mental health. In that next legislative session, we made the largest increase in mental health spending ever, $30 million a year.
We also decided we'd take on universal background checks and the issues around large-capacity magazines. And it was a tough battle:
If you work hard enough and listen hard enough you should be able to find compromise on almost everything. But the NRA would not listen to reason.
In the end we not only passed universal background checks, but we also passed high-capacity magazine limits for the first time in a Western purple state.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Mar 20, 2019
Bernie Sanders:
Ban assault weapons; automatic background checks
- A gun-control advocate, Sanders would ban assault weapons as well as high-capacity magazines or equipment that allow more than ten rounds to be fired at once.
- He supports universal background checks and voted for the Manchin-Toomey
legislation expanding federal background checks.
- In early 2016, Sanders changed his position on a gun law that protects some gun manufacturers and sellers from civil lawsuits. Sanders supported the measure in 2005 while he was serving in the
House of Representatives. In 2016, he co-sponsored a bill to repeal that law.
- In the House, Sanders also voted against the pro-gun-control Brady Bill, writing that he believes states, not the federal government, can handle waiting periods
for handguns.
- He told student reporters from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that he voted no on the Brady Bill because his state preferred "automatic background checks" and not waiting periods.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 19, 2019
Amy Klobuchar:
Commonsense gun laws have wide support
I always look at every proposal and say, "Would this hurt my Uncle Dick in the deer stand?" And I would say that these commonsense proposals in front of us do not.
I don't see banning assault weapons hurts in the deer stand. We should join the majority of Americans, and actually many gun owners, in having the courage to pass commonsense gun safety legislation.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 18, 2019
Howard Schultz:
Honor Second Amendment but enact sensible gun laws
I respect and I honor the Second Amendment. But I believe is there should be some sensible approach to removing the kind of weapons that have no place in common society. I have a hard time understanding why people need to carry an
AR-15 around in the streets of where they live. I think anyone who has a criminal record, anyone who has a mental health problem, that there needs to be a lot more jurisdiction on how those people are buying weapons.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 12, 2019
Julian Castro:
Supports background checks at gun shows & assault weapon ban
Castro wants to ensure that background checks and waiting periods are enforced at gun shows. He supported Sen. Dianne Feinstein's, D-Calif., push for an "assault weapons ban." The bill sought to regulate the ownership
of semiautomatic weapons, which include any weapon that only requires the release of its trigger to reload. It also targeted weapons with detachable magazine and certain grips.
Source: Townhall.com: "The 2020 Democrats" (presidential hopefuls)
Feb 4, 2019
Cory Booker:
Require background checks; ban assault weapons
- Booker often cites gun violence in his own Newark neighborhood when pushing for stricter federal gun safety laws. He supports legislation to require background checks for all gun purchases and introduced legislation to ban
high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.
- Booker previously sponsored legislation to ban bump stocks, devices that convert semi-automatic weapons into fully-automatic guns, which were used in the
October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.
- In 2000, as a city councilman in Newark, Booker supported banning all guns.
-
By the time he was mayor a decade later, he admitted banning assault weapons would only prevent a "small percentage" of murders and called the gun debate "tiring."
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 1, 2019
Kamala Harris:
No reason we have assault weapons in a civil society
While fielding a question about gun violence, Harris called out Congress for the lack of gun control legislation. She even suggested "harsh" means to encourage Congress to introduce a new bill. Harris started her discussion about gun reform by saying:
"You can be in favor of the second amendment and also understand that there is no reason in a civil society that we have assault weapons around communities that can kill babies and police officers."
Harris became even more impassioned while discussing the inaction by congress following the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that took the lives of 20 children between the ages 6 and 7. She said: "I think somebody should have
required all those members of Congress to go in a room, in a locked room, no press, nobody else, and look at the autopsy photographs of those babies. And then you vote your conscience."
Source: Yahoo Entertainment Video on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 29, 2019
Kirsten Gillibrand:
Ban high-capacity magazines; close gun-show loophole
- Guns: Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Make background checks universal.
- Gillibrand would reinstate a ban on assault weapons as well as ban high-capacity magazines, which enable a weapon to fire dozens of rounds without
reloading.
- She opposes the idea of a national concealed carry policy and favors a number of other restrictions, including closing the "gun show loophole," requiring background checks for all gun purchases, and increasing restrictions on domestic
abusers.
- As a House member representing a rural upstate district in New York, Gillibrand held different views on gun control and received an A rating from the NRA.
-
She has said she was wrong and representing an entire state that includes urban communities with more gun violence pushed her to support more gun control measures.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 16, 2019
Kirsten Gillibrand:
2006: "A" rating from NRA; 2019: apologizes
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand apologized amidst a broader mea culpa over her formerly conservative views on "The Rachel Maddow Show." Gillibrand announced she was running for president. Formerly a U.S. representative in upstate New York before being
appointed to the Senate, Gillibrand has established herself as one of the chamber's most liberal members and is forming her campaign in part around her advocacy for women.
However, Maddow didn't let her off the hook for her old views on issues like
guns and immigration, discussing what she called Gillibrand's "conservative bona fides" in unseating a GOP congressman in New York in 2006. Gillibrand had an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association.
"Senator Gillibrand has had a transformation.
She has changed a great deal on policy in the decade since she was a card-carrying member of the Blue Dog Democrats," Maddow said. "She has been on her own party's right. She has been on her own party's left."
Source: Washington Free Beacon on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jan 16, 2019
Kirsten Gillibrand:
Embarrassed at previous NRA "A" rating; now rated "F"
During her tenure in the House, Gillibrand was part of the Blue Dog Coalition [of conservative Democrats]. She advertised on her website that she had a 100-percent voting record with the National Rifle Association.
She was confronted with her ideological shift during a 60 Minutes segment last February, explaining how she went from having an "A" rating from the NRA to an "F."
"I went down to
Brooklyn to meet with families who had suffered from gun violence in their communities," Gillibrand recounted. "And you immediately experience the feeling that I couldn't have been more wrong--you know,
I only had the lens of upstate New York." She went on to say that she was "embarrassed" because she had in fact lived in New York City for a decade.
Source: Washington Examiner on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls
Jan 15, 2019
Tulsi Gabbard:
Ban assault weapons; require universal background checks
In Congress, Gabbard has co-sponsored bills that would ban assault weapons and require background checks for all gun purchases,
including closing what is known as the "gun-show loophole."
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 14, 2019
Julian Castro:
Ban assault weapons
- Gun control: Require universal background checks, ban assault weapons.
- A longtime gun control advocate,
Castro has pushed for renewing the assault weapons ban, limiting high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks at gun shows.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 12, 2019
Jay Inslee:
Arming teachers with guns is ridiculous
To Inslee, a key part of the formula for running against Trump is being ready to take him on directly. During the National Governors Association meeting, Inslee was at the White House with the other governors for a lunch. Every year, a few governors get
up and ask questions, and so the night before the event, Inslee and a few staffers brainstormed how to make the best use of the chance.The governor didn't like any of their suggestions, and ended up improvising a question inspired by his
brother-in-law, a teacher, about the proposal Trump was pushing after the Parkland shooting to arm teachers with guns. Inslee called it ridiculous. He told the president to stop tweeting and start listening. He watched the president's arms cross into
his telltale grumpy self-hug, his hands shoved back behind his armpits, elbows up, lips pursed. ("If he's ever carved on a mountain, it won't be Mount Rushmore, it'll be Mount Petulant," Inslee told me later. "And that's the pose.")
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Jan 2, 2019
Beto O`Rourke:
Supports Second Amendment with sensible gun laws
I strongly support the Second Amendment. I don't want to take yours or anyone else's guns. We lose 30,000 of our fellow Americans every year to gun violence. No developed country even comes close.
We can start with areas where there is extraordinary common ground like universal background checks. We need someone who could not care less about what the NRA or the gun lobby or any other political action committee thinks.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Oct 18, 2018
John Kasich:
Learn from mass shooting tragedies and take action
John Kasich supports the Second Amendment and has signed multiple bills to protect gun rights. As a pragmatic conservative Governor Kasich also recognizes the need for common-sense solutions to our nation's problems. In recent years, our country has
been devastated by a dramatic increase in school shootings and mass killings--many with the use of semi-automatic weapons. Governor Kasich believes that we should not be afraid to learn from these tragedies and take appropriate action.
John Kasich has spoken out on the need for reasonable reforms to prevent future massacres--including the potential of expanding background checks on gun sales and limiting the ability to sell weapons that have often been used in mass killings.
The 2nd Amendment is one of the most divisive issues in our country. Leadership requires the willingness to tackle these issues and to find solutions. Our country and our children deserve that leadership.
Source: 2020 presidential hopefuls: campaign website JohnKasich.com
Sep 18, 2018
Kamala Harris:
We cannot tolerate society with our babies being slaughtered
Sen. Kamala Harris is increasingly positioning herself for a what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary for the White House in 2020, allowing her to seek the progressive mantle.Harris has sought to highlight her positions on gun control
while carving out an identity as a hard-core critic of the National Rifle Association. This week, she was quick to highlight an attack by the NRA's chief at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "I am not going to be silenced by attacks from the
NRA or anyone else," she wrote on Twitter, minutes after NRA chief Wayne LaPierre labeled Harris and other Democrats as "new European-style socialists bearing down upon us."
Last week, after the nation began another discussion on gun control
following the shooting at a Florida high school, Harris immediately weighed in on MSNBC.
"We cannot tolerate a society and live in a country with any level of pride when our babies are being slaughtered," she said in a video that quickly went viral.
Source: Amie Parnes in The Hill on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 26, 2018
Tom Steyer:
Targets youth voter registration for pro gun control votes
In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, a billionaire Democratic donor is pledging $1 million to help young people register to vote with the hope that they will help elect pro-gun control politicians in the midterm elections. "Over the last
week, we've all had a chance to hear the powerful, thoughtful, important appeals from the Floridian high school students about the need for meaningful gun control," Tom Steyer says in a video posted to Twitter Thursday.
Source: CNN coverage of Twitter posting on 2020 presidential hopeful
Feb 23, 2018
Marco Rubio:
Ban bump stocks; limit magazine size; more background checks
Rubio insisted he wasn't going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, particularly when it came to his position on high-volume magazines. "It may not prevent an attack, but it may save lives in an attack," he said, suggesting that three or four
lives might have been saved in Parkland had there been some restriction on magazine size.Rubio steadfastly refused to consider banning semiautomatic rifles outright. And he said he would not refuse money from the National Rifle Association.
Rubio
said, "I absolutely believe that in this country if you are [under] 18 years of age you should not be able to buy a rifle and I will support a law that takes that right away." Rubio was met with applause and went on to say he supports banning "bump
stocks," which can make a semiautomatic fire like a machine gun. He also voiced support for better background checks & mental health funding. But when Rubio said an "assault weapons ban" would not have prevented Parkland's murders, the boos rained down.
Source: Caputo & Morin in Politico.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 21, 2018
John Kasich:
We need bipartisan gun reform to deal with mass shootings
Kasich's own public stances on guns have varied throughout his political career. Kasich supported the assault weapons ban in the 1990s and earned the ire of the National Rifle Association. As governor years later, he signed legislation supported
by gun rights advocates and touted his improved position with the NRA. Last year, legislation Kasich signed went into effect that expanded where people can carry concealed handguns to include willing colleges and day-care facilities.
But last November in an op-ed, Kasich called for a bipartisan approach to implement some kind of gun reform.
This week, he said Congress' history of inaction on the issue and the likelihood it will not address it in the wake of the recent high profile
mass shooting was just one sign of broad dysfunction, citing the immigration debate as another example. "Think about how bad it is in Congress," Kasich said. "They can't decide anything. They can't agree to anything down there."
Source: Eli Watkins on CNN on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 18, 2018
John Kasich:
Background checks and increased attention to mental illness
[In the wake of deadly school shooting this week], Kasich said he thought it was possible to push for some measures at the state and local level, like background checks and increased attention to mental illness, while Washington would not move
from the status quo."I'm not calling for some outright ban," Kasich said. "I'm talking about small steps that can be taken that can be effective, and the Congress ought to do it. I just don't have any confidence in them.
I don't think most Americans do.
Kasich said there were honest disagreements on the issue from people who "feel strongly" and stressed he supports the Second Amendment. Still, he tried to make the case that even ardent supporters of the Second
Amendment should be open to some kind of change in policy. "If you're a strong Second Amendment person, you need to slow down and take a look at reasonable things that can be done to answer these young people," Kasich said.
Source: Eli Watkins on CNN on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 18, 2018
Oprah Winfrey:
Advocate for increased restrictions on gun control
On the Second Amendment, Oprah supports increased restrictions on gun ownership. During her 2013 Harvard commencement speech, Winfrey insisted, "The vast majority of people in this country believe in stronger background checks. Because they realize
that we can uphold the Second Amendment and also reduce that violence that is robbing us of our children." Despite Oprah's insistence, there is little evidence that "stronger background checks" would have prevented any major American shooting.
Source: The Daily Wire speculation on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 9, 2018
Joe Walsh:
Purpose of Second Amendment is protection against tyranny
Joe Walsh took to Twitter [prior to the 2016 election] to announce his post-election day plans. "On November 9th," he wrote, "if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket. You in?"Walsh frequently says horrific things on Twitter, and it may be tempting to
write off this latest proclamation. But this sentiment--that a Donald Trump loss might justify the violent overthrow of a Hillary Clinton administration--is really just the logical endpoint of a longtime GOP talking point. The National Rifle Association
has longed peddled the "insurrectionist" theory of the Second Amendment, arguing that the right to bear arms was intended to protect citizens against a tyrannical ruler.
Although this insurrectionist theory is foreign to the Supreme Court's
interpretation of the Second Amendment, it's gained a foothold in the Republican Party. In a follow-up tweet, Walsh clarified that he was encouraging "protesting. Participating in acts of civil disobedience. Doing what it takes to get our country back."
Source: Slate.com, "Grab My Musket," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Oct 26, 2016
Lincoln Chafee:
2014: B+ rating from Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
The state of Rhode Island, where Chafee served as a mayor, senator, and governor, received a B+ rating from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in 2014.
The state requires background checks on private sales, has a waiting period on all sales, and requires mental health checks. In 2012, Chafee voted to ban semiautomatic weapons and high capacity magazines in Rhode Island.
Source: Newsweek magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jun 25, 2015
Howard Schultz:
2013: Requested customers not bring guns to Starbucks
Schultz released an open letter containing a "respectful request that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas." In the past Starbucks simply "followed local laws." This prompted gun enthusiasts to stage "Starbucks
Appreciation Days" while armed. Schultz said "we do not want these events in our stores. The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers."
Source: The Economist magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Sep 18, 2013
Joe Walsh:
Fast and Furious: an attack on gun owners & gun dealers
Q: You are among the earliest to call for Eric Holder's resignation. Do you think you are getting a little ahead of yourself?WALSH: The more you learn about this, the more you have to ask yourself this. Nobody has given a rationale yet for this "Fast
and Furious" program. And it is clear to me, and I think it's clear to a lot of Americans, that this was an attack on gun owners. This was an attack on gun dealers. And Eric Holder is responsible for that. It is out outrageous what transpired in this
Fast and Furious. And all he is doing right now is obfuscating and not responding to Congress. He needs to be held accountable.
A: So if he answers for investigations or follow-up meetings, would you hold off on calling for the Attorney General's
resignation? Or you're still standing by that?
WALSH: No, because it is clear the Department of Justice approved a failed program, a program that I believe is criminal and in which two of our border agents were killed. And that he can't take back.
Source: Your World with Cavuto on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Oct 26, 2011
Page last updated: Nov 01, 2021