Tag Archives: Gun Control

Cuccinelli Brags About His ‘A’ NRA Rating At Site Of Virginia Tech Mass Shooting Where 32 People Were Killed

Yep, Cuccinelli seems determined to go down in flames….

This is not only politically wrong, it’s politically stupid,  not to mention insensitive, to brag about the NRA giving him an “A” rating and being against background checks at a place like this….

Burn, baby, burn….

From ThinkProgress.org:

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) boasted at Virginia Tech, site of the 2007 shootings that killed 32 people, that he opposed universal background checks and was proud of his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. Terry McAuliffe, his Democratic opponent for Governor, vowed to support efforts to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals and vowed to prioritize the safety of students over the group’s ratings.

In the final debate of the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial campaign Thursday, both candidates were asked whether they supported universal background checks for gun purchases — a concept supported by 92 percent of Virginians according to a January poll. McAuliffe told the Blacksburg, Virginia audience that, “as a parent [and] a spouse,” as a gun owner, and as a hunter, he supported both the Second Amendment and universal background checks. Noting the pin he was wearing in memory of the 2007 victims, McAuliffe said, “some people should not own guns.”

Cuccinelli responded by dismissing the need for background checks, telling the questioner, “none of what you’ve asked about would have affected that tragedy” at Virginia Tech. Cuccinelli then bragged that the National Rifle Association, which has steadfastly opposed against any efforts to check the criminal backgrounds of arms purchasers:

via Cuccinelli Brags About His ‘A’ NRA Rating At Site Of Mass Shooting Where 32 People Were Killed | ThinkProgress.

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Gun Issue May Drive Women To 2014 Polls

Off-year elections are always terribly problematic for Democrats.  The Republican base of crazies and old, rich white people always shows up at the polls.  The Democratic constituency doesn’t.

That’s how we got stuck with the Republican House and how the GOP took over so many state legislature and thus gerrymandered the Congressional districts to protect the GOP House.  And how so many crazy Republican Governors got elected in 2010….

The Democrats have to find issues that will drive their voters to the polls in these off-year elections.  Gun control may be one of them.  We just have to break through the DC Bubble about Guns and their fear of the NRA.

All the polls say the public widely supports additional gun controls like background checks, banning assault weapons and high volume magazines.  We just have to get the Dems to believe this and come up with a credible and effective messaging process.

That’s always the biggest challenge:   The Democrats just don’t know how to message and make the most of issues that drive their supporters to the polls.

But they may be starting to learn…

From TalkingPointsMemo.com:

 

Women who don’t usually vote in midterm elections — the same women who generally drive Democratic victories — will turn out in 2014 over the issue of guns, according to a recent poll.

The survey released by Women Donors Network, a self-described progressive “community of women philanthropists,” found that a subset of women voters who usually don’t vote in midterm elections are more likely to vote in 2014 on the issue of gun violence.

That echoes what former Rep. Steve LaTourette (OH), now a militant moderate leader in the Republican Party, said on Tuesday when he cautioned his party against sticking too close to the National Rifle Association in the post-Newtown legislative push to reduce gun violence. If the GOP is seen as being in the pocket of the NRA, he said, it could cost the party big with women in future elections.

The survey, which was conducted by Democratic pollster Diane Feldman and Republican pollster Bob Carpenter using live phone calls to 1,500 women, found that “women who may not ordinarily vote in a non-presidential year are among those most engaged with issues of gun violence.” The group also posted a PDF slide deck presenting the poll’s findings.

Feldman explained in an interview with TPM on Wednesday the results mean guns could be good politics for Democrats.

“As we approach the 2014 congressional elections, the question will be to what degree do single women, lower income women, persons of color participate since that’s the Democratic edge,” she said. “And this is an issue that can encourage them to participate.”

MORE:   Gun Issue May Drive Women To 2014 Polls | TPMDC.

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Virginians favor tighter gun control, survey finds | GoDanRiver.com

More surprisingly good news from the Old Dominion:

A coalition of U.S. mayors Wednesday released a survey that claims broad support in Virginia for tighter background checks on the purchase and sale of firearms in the commonwealth.

According to the survey, conducted by the Democratic polling firm Hart Research for the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns:

•84 percent of Virginians support requiring gun dealers to notify police when someone fails a background check.

•88 percent of Virginians support a law to require background checks for all guns sold at gun shows.

•85 percent of Virginians support tracking the bulk purchase of semi-automatic assault rifles.

The survey coincided with the introduction of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

The legislation would require federal agencies to disseminate records on people who are prohibited from purchasing guns, such as felons, drug abusers and the mentally ill. It also would require nearly all gun buyers to pass a background check.

The 550-member mayor’s group, supported by families of victims of the Virginia Tech shooting massacre, claims that “millions of records of dangerous individuals are still missing” from the National Criminal Information System. It says a law passed after the Tech massacre to facilitate the process has not been fully funded.

via Virginians favor tighter gun control, survey finds | GoDanRiver.com.

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