Democrats Criticize Bernie Sanders for “Defending” Gunmakers
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.06.16
A recent interview between Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and the New York Daily News has lead to some democrats criticizing the presidential hopeful for his stance on gun manufacturers and their liability. In the interview, Sanders told the paper that he did not believe that victims of crimes committed with guns should be able to sue the manufacturer, since the latter did nothing more than produce and sell a legal product. Notably, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), a vocal advocate for gun control who has publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, blasted Sanders with a series of tweets.
Democrats cannot nominate a candidate who believes that toy gun makers should be held to a higher legal standard than real gun makers.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 5, 2016
For Sanders to say that the Sandy Hook families should be barred from court, even if the weapon was negligently made, is wrong.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 5, 2016
Bernie is a friend, but this is really bad. Dems can’t nominate a candidate who supports gun manufacturer immunity. pic.twitter.com/JEgXQhlnAA
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 5, 2016
Hillary Clinton also responded to the interview, telling her supporters on Tuesday that she disagreed with her rival.
“I was against it, and he was for it, to give immunity from liability to gunmakers and sellers,” Clinton told a crowd in Brooklyn. “We can reverse this, and 92% of Americans and 85% of gun owners agree that we should.”
Clinton had attacked Sanders on this issue before, drawing attention to a controversial 2005 law that granted gun makers immunity from certain claims of negligence, and from victims of gun crimes holding them responsible for selling the weapon used to commit the crime. A common analogy used by supporters of the law is that knife manufacturers (or of any potentially dangerous tool) are not held responsible if the product is intentionally used to injure or kill someone, whether by the person who bought it or otherwise. Sanders voted in support for the bill.
“If you’re a gun dealer and you sell me a gun and I go out and I kill him [pointing into the audience]…. Do I think that that gun dealer should be sued for selling me a legal product that he misused?” Sanders asked the Daily News, before shaking his head no.
The question posed by the Daily News was related to a pending lawsuit in Connecticut against the manufacturer of the rifle that Adam Lanza used to kill 20 students and six employees in Sandy Hook four years ago. Sanders did clarify in his interview that he supported bans on so-called “assault weapons,” and other gun control measures, such as expanding background checks. On the subject of manufacturer liability however, he is standing firm.
What do you think?
