""Unlike Donald Trump, I will not pander to the gun lobby," Clinton said during a keynote speech at the Trayvon Martin Foundation's Circle of Mothers dinner. "We will not be silenced and we will not be intimidated."
Clinton made the comments a day after Trump was endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
"Parents, teachers, and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms, just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels, by the way," she said. "This is someone running to be president of the United States of America, a country facing a gun violence epidemic, and he's talking about more guns in our schools."" nbcnews
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Well... NRA has five million members and is in very sound shape financially. It is a member oriented, gun owner oriented group. It receives the great bulk of its funds through membership dues and some as well from gun manufacturer advertising in NRA publications such as "The American Rifleman." The gun manufacturers have their own trade association. There seems to be a generalized phenomenon in which the more anti-gun people like HC and Obama try to create impediments to gun ownership, the more NRA grows in numbers of members. There is a general belief in the US that when the anti-gun people say that their ultimate goal is "reasonable restrictions on gun ownership," they lie. IMO and that of most gun owners, the anti-gun people who say this really want a process that leads eventually to general confiscation or limitations that amount to the same thing. Hillary seems to be running on the basis that men, and particularly white men do not matter and that she will be elected by women, racial minorities, the far left, the media the LGBT "community," etc. This seems short sighted. The US is not the UK, Australia, Japan, or Canada when the issue of gun ownership is in play. There are about 100 million gun owners in the US. That is about a third of the population. Roughly 5 % of gun owners belong to NRA. That fairly low participation rate is not IMO reflective of a lack of sympathy for NRA. IMO the gun owning public generally supports NRA's political efforts but most people would rather not pay dues and are content to wait, watch and then vote. For HC to bait gun owners by associating them rhetorically with a loser like Zimmerman, the South Carolina lunatic and the mad boy at New Town is so provocative a thing to do that it will certainly cost her a lot of votes. In all those particular cases the guns involved were legally purchased and background checked. If that does not suffice what would suffice for HC?
OTOH, Trump's now passionate defense of the 2nd Amendment is so obviously opportunistic that it too can easily seen as pandering to his audience at the NRA convention.
But, pilgrims, gun owners can read HC's passion on this subject clearly, very clearly. pl
Well, so she will not pander to the NRA. That doesn't mean that there are not many other groups, just as small and just as specific in a specialized interest, to which she will pander. Pandering, in fact, is her specialty. She goes to a convention of preschool teachers and talks at length about how, if elected president, she will create a program to provide free pre-kindergarden for all children.
Posted by: Bill H | 22 May 2016 at 10:07 AM
The concern over what "reasonable" gun control measures would look like is justified. NY was always anti-gun, but after the Newton tragedy, Gov. Cuomo (D) showed us what phase 1 of the anti-gun strategy would be when he rammed the SAFE act through state legislature.
"Assault" weapons are banned. Anything that looks like a military weapon cannot be sold in the state. Pre-SAFE Act owners of these weapons had to register them within one year of enactment. Failure to do so is a crime ( a felony). They are grandfathered in for now. Anyone bringing such a weapon into NY post-enactment is committing a crime.
Magazine capacity for all guns (long and short) was originally limited to 7 rounds. Being in possession of a magazine with > 7 round capacity was a crime. Because the 7 round limit caused a lot of guns to be rendered useless (impossible or very difficult to find a 7 round mag for many guns and an associated court case was scheduled) the limit was upped to 10 rounds capacity.
A citizen of NY state has to beg for a permit to be allowed to own a handgun; not carry, but even own and keep on one's property. The permit can - and usually will be denied - on the slightest of excuses (e.g. a misdemeanor conviction for anything, even many years in the past, a family member who could possibly gain access to the gun with any legal issues in the past). All handguns to be permitted are registered by serial number with the local sheriff's dept as well as the state. If you have a permit, but a handgun not specifically listed on it, that is a crime. You will lose your permit, your guns and may well do jail time. It is a felony with a mandatory minimum 3 1/2 years in prison to be in possession of a handgun without the permit anywhere in the state.
It is virtually impossible for a normal citizen to obtain a permit within New York City limits. It is a felony for a permitted owner in one of the outlying counties to bring a handgun into NYC.
It is a serious crime (a felony? can't recall) to be in possession of a magazine, for any gun, with a capacity > 10 anywhere in the state.
There are restrictions on the amount of ammunition that can be purchased at any time. You must show ID and get entered into a database if you are purchasing more than a hundred rounds at a time.
It just goes on and on, page after page. I happen to know that many good people are now de facto felons because of the SAFE Act. They just haven't been caught yet with the contents of their attics, basements and other caches.
The Association of NY Sherriff's has declared the SAFE Act unenforceable because they know they would have to arrest so many upstanding members of communities, some their own relatives and friends. But the down state left see this as a wet dream come true. Almost, the next move is total ban of all semi-automatic guns. It is only the large hunting constituency that keeps a total ban from occurring. The left recognizes that, politically, lever, bolt and pump action must be allowed or the hunters would totally turn on them.
I believe that Clinton and her ilk would like to see the SAFE Act implemented nationwide.
Posted by: no one | 22 May 2016 at 11:01 AM
Sir,
AFAIK Trump has always been a 2A supporter. I'm pleased to see he's making the argument so many others have IRT to elites who want to disarm YT, specifically "If guns are so bad, why do you surround yourself with bodyguards armed with guns?" and telling her "You first" when it comes to disarming.
Hillary has decided to lose on the "invite violent foreigners and disarm the native populace" platform. November is going to be a blowout, even with the monolithic herd voting of blacks.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 11:26 AM
Tyler
http://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2016/05/03/ted-cruz-schools-trump-supporter-trumps-horrible-2nd-amendment-record/
"Trump fully supported the 1994 “assault weapons” ban of Bill Clinton, which would ban many of the most common firearms sold in the United States, such as the AR-15. Trump in fact cited his support of the ban in his book The America We Deserve."
pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 May 2016 at 11:33 AM
Colonel, sorry if repetitive, but IMO and unfortunately at the end, in the democratic convention, eventually HRC will bunk with Bernie and win the election, if they win Florida and Ohio this thing is over.
Posted by: Kooshy | 22 May 2016 at 11:35 AM
kooshy
"if they win Florida and Ohio this thing is over" I missed it! When was the election? I doubt that you actually understand how many Americans feel about the 2nd Amendment. Perhaps you should talk to people not from Southern California or NY City. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 May 2016 at 11:47 AM
Southern California might surprise you too, Orange and San Diego counties at least and the less populous inland empire. Might be urban myth but I've head that OC has among the highest ownership rates in the country. A lot of active Navy and Marine folks around here too.
Posted by: SoCal Rhino | 22 May 2016 at 12:07 PM
Sir, That is a painful revelation (what Trump said about the assault weapons ban).
He has more recently said (2014), "You have the SAFE Act, which is a total catastrophe. It's hard to believe it even got passed. Look, you're sitting at home and a bad guy walks in with a gun. At least you want to have a shot at it, right? You don't want to be defenseless... But this SAFE Act is a disaster. Whoever ultimately is going to be the nominee for the Republicans, they better bring it up very loud and clear because that act is a catastrophe. I call it the unSAFE Act."
Is it "pandering" if one's position evolves over time to better fit the reality on the ground? Moreover, is it not the job of those wishing to be elected officials to represent the views and wants of constituents? Where is the line between pandering and representing?
Would Trump attain office partly on a strong pro-2A platform and then back pedal?
Posted by: no one | 22 May 2016 at 12:08 PM
I think that making gun control an issue of hers in this election is absolute folly on Hillary's part. It cannot possibly win her a single vote which she would not have gotten anyway.
Posted by: James Loughton | 22 May 2016 at 12:10 PM
SoCal Rhino
Thanks for the correction. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 May 2016 at 12:24 PM
Re - your point about eventual "far left" support for Hillary. If Hillary does in fact win the nomination, it is likely that Bernie will support her. How enthusiastically is another question. But Bernie is not his supporters and it is an open question as to whether even a majority of them would support Hillary.
Posted by: pj | 22 May 2016 at 12:30 PM
Sir,
Did not know that. OTOH I don't see him being in favor of that sort of thing any more.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 12:34 PM
Noone,
The good thing about Trump is that he's pissed off so many of the Borgists that he has to go through with his plans or impeachmentat the first opportunity is lurking.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 12:35 PM
James,
Hillary is running as the identity politics candidate. This thing makes sense, I guess, if you live in a bubble.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 12:36 PM
Ditto your comment. I think progressive left in the Democratic Party is ready to sit out this election if Hillary becomes the candidate -- they might be supporting him but they are not willing to follow him over that cliff. The "far left" which have abandoned the Dems already will vote third party and, I have seen signs of this in California, even vote for Trump. This is the case For those lefties that have foreign policy as a higher priority than social issues.
I have to agree with pl that Hillary is making a big mistake pushing this gun regulation so forcefully -- I have not met that many people who hold the antigun issue as a high priority certainly not high enough to let it influence their vote. Hillary is the probable Dem nominee even if she loses the California primary against Sanders.However, if she does it will be a major political blow going into the general election. So for those of you registered as a dem or declined to state (call yourself independent, with a small i not capital I) you can vote your feelings on this gun issue by voting for Sanders.
Posted by: ToivoS | 22 May 2016 at 01:40 PM
HRC is against gun ownership, period. I believe she thinks the 2nd Amendment is wrong and would do everything she could to see it repealed.
That along with her more government is better plus involvement in the classified documents fiasco and other shady dealing should be enough to keep the great unwashed in the vast flyover country she seems unaware of to keep her out of office.
As an aside I just read the super PC school system of Oregon has decided to ban any textbooks that have any indication of non support of global warming.
Posted by: John Minnerath | 22 May 2016 at 02:01 PM
Pj,
I don't think Bernie supporters will come out for Hillary. They will vote Trump or stay home.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 02:07 PM
How many people who get all riled up over the 2nd Amendment voted for Obama? Probably zero (or very few) - the same amount who will vote for Hillary. While this may be an important issue to some people it will have zero effect on the election as most of the people who worry about this have no intention of voting for Hillary anyway. If anything, it will force those people who are undecided and upset about all the guns to go with Hillary.
Trump screwed this one up. He had the votes of the people in that room whether he made that speech or not.
Posted by: GulfCoastPirate | 22 May 2016 at 02:38 PM
Correct. I think the far left has had enough and will NOT support her. The right wing demagogues can call her a lefty all they want but all they do is expose how uninformed they are. She is pure status quo and that ain't lefty. The left doesn't have any power and hasn't for A long time. That whole lefr/right thing is just another shiny object for short attention span folk to chase after.
The smartest people I read on the net prefer Trump totally on a foreign policy basis. Smart people realize there is nothing in Syria worth glowing in the dark for.
Posted by: Former 11B | 22 May 2016 at 02:40 PM
GCP
I voted for Obama twice (faute de mieux) and am a life member of NRA. I must remember to send them more money for their political work. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 May 2016 at 02:41 PM
How many people do you think are like you in your state? Enough to swing it to Trump? Based solely on guns? You may be correct but I highly doubt it. Hillary may well lose but it won't be because of her stance on guns and the 2nd Amendment. It will be because she is an overall poor candidate and many Democrats like myself are sick of the Clinton's. I'm not one who thinks Bubba did all that great of a job.
Posted by: GulfCoastPirate | 22 May 2016 at 02:48 PM
Colonel: IMHO fools like this lady are a more important reason Hillary MAY lose than anything having to do with guns.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-debbie-wasserman-schultz_us_5740c0cee4b045cc9a713056
Posted by: GulfCoastPirate | 22 May 2016 at 02:54 PM
GCP
Have you no awareness of the composition of the General Assembly? Do you think it is an accident that the Republicans hold both houses and that McCauliffe has been powerless to enact anything? the Republicans do not hold the governor's mansion here because they keep nominating idiots that no one likes. Debbie? Yes, well she is a burden that HC relishes. Will guns alone cost HC the election" No, but the process is cumulative. HC's depiction on SNL last night is indicative of the way this thing is going. Better than the bar scene was the high school play in which the SNL people sobered up enough to recognize all that PC crap for what it is, juvenile. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 May 2016 at 03:02 PM
Yes GCP, Trump has locked up the votes in PA, OH, WV and the rest of the Rust Belt while Hillary panders to elite bicoastals and blacks who vote for her in 95% blocs anyway.
She's going to lose and lose YUGE. Big Grandma is going down.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 03:30 PM
Sanders would have been a threat, IMO, if he had adopted Trump's immigration common sense and stood up to Black Lies Matter.
This campaign is about the economy and order. If Sanders had adopted an "America First" plan, he'd have put this thing to bed a while ago running on FDR style populism. Instead he bowed to identity politics and adopted the mantra of the "Coalition of the Fringes" as Steve Sailer puts it, held together by its hatred of white hetero men.
How's he going to run against Trump's enforce the law and anti globalist themes? "No we need to invite more 80 IQ peons over here and ship your jobs to China, but everyone gets free college just cuz?"
Trump blew apart the GOP. The Democrats are going to be a generation or two realizing they can't square the circle of a prosperous nation with fringe identity politics.
Posted by: Tyler | 22 May 2016 at 03:39 PM