Bernie Sanders defends his stance on guns: 'I have a D-minus rating from the NRA'


Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tackled the issue of guns during the CNN Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, with the candidates clashing over immunity for gun manufacturers.
"I think we have to try everything that works to limit the numbers of people and the kinds of people who are given access to firearms," Clinton said. While "not every killer will have the same profile," she said, it's important to enact "comprehensive background checks, closing the online loophole, closing the gun show loophole, closing what's called the Charleston loophole. I also believe so strongly that giving immunity to gun makers and sellers was a terrible mistake, because it removed any accountability from the gun makers and the sellers." Clinton, noting that she knows families who lost children during the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, said it was unbelievable that "we talk about corporate greed, [while] the gun manufacturers sell guns to make as much as they can make."
Sanders has voted in favor of giving manufacturers immunity and against background checks, and said he's a "guy who comes from a rural state with low gun control. I have a D-minus rating from the NRA." He said that "nobody has a magic solution to this problem," since "any lunatic tomorrow" can go on a shooting rampage," but we have to do "everything we possibly can to minimize the possibilities of these mass killings." He differs from Clinton on "this liability thing," because "if they're selling a product into the hands of a person who is buying legally, you're ending gun manufacturing in America." Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Arise, Sir Goldenballs': David Beckham plays the long game in quest for knighthood
Talking Point Former footballer set to be knighted in King's birthday honours after years of snubs
-
Quiz of The Week: 31 May – 6 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How did Japan become a space superpower?
Podcast Plus, why on earth are Labubu dolls so popular? Will buy-now-pay-later cause a new financial crisis?
-
Trump hits Africa, Middle East with new travel ban
Speed Read The travel ban bars visitors from 12 countries and restricts entry from seven
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge