Democrats: We can win on guns

[DonViejo]

PHILADELPHIA –– Hillary Clinton and the Democrats are taking their gun reform message full-bore into the general election, betting that a shift in voter sentiment has turned a once-toxic issue into a political winner.

Gun control has emerged as one of the most prominent pillars of Clinton's 2016 platform, partly because she used it to draw a contrast with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her former primary opponent, and his mixed voting record on the issue.

But many leading gun-control advocates, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), say Clinton has made it clear the issue will remain at the top of her agenda as she battles Donald Trump and the Republicans heading into November.

“There were a lot of cynics who said, ‘Hillary Clinton’s going to drop this issue once the primary was over.’ That this was just a means to create a wedge with Sen. Sanders," said Murphy, who has become Congress’s best-known gun control advocate since the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn. "They were wrong.”

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http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/289357-democrats-we-can-win-on-guns

[hollowdweller]

1. Gun control combined with Clinton/Kaine previous support for free trade could doom us in rustbelt

They think the issue is a winner this time. I don't.

[LongtimeAZDem]

2. Agreed; might be good nationally, but it would kill any chance of AZ going blue (nt)

[NWCorona]

3. This would be a negative in the GE IMHO

[NashuaDW]

4. Not a good issue outside of the major cities

What happens when the candidates are asked which of the recent shootings the proposed laws would have prevented ... and they admit that it wouldn't have stopped ANY of them.

This is going to backfire and activate a lot of people who don't march, write letters, or otherwise be vocal, but do vote.

[yallerdawg]

5. THIS is who we are!

“There were a lot of cynics who said, ‘Hillary Clinton’s going to drop this issue once the primary was over.’ That this was just a means to create a wedge with Sen. Sanders," said Murphy, who has become Congress’s best-known gun control advocate since the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn.

"They were wrong.”

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), a gun owner who heads the Democrats' gun violence prevention task force, delivered a similar message Tuesday, saying Clinton's dedication to the issue has given advocates fresh hope they can break a long-standing congressional impasse and adopt tougher gun laws if she wins the White House.

"This is the first presidential nominee, in my lifetime, that came out talking about responsible gun laws," Thompson said following a gun reform rally on a sweltering morning in downtown Philadelphia. "That's huge in itself."