Democrats Invoke Emotional, Personal Experiences With Gun Violence In Messaging Shift For Party
Even a few years ago, it was politically fraught for Democrats to take a fierce and vocal stance against guns. “Since 2008 or 2004, we’ve continued to have, both in intensity and quantity, more and more of these horrific shootings that capture the mind’s eye and public attention,” said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who runs a rural state with a strong hunting tradition. “My family hasn’t been immune from that.” Other Democrats on the presidential trail are also using stronger language to urge for more restrictions.
The Washington Post:
Democrats Take On Guns In Emotional Terms
The Democratic presidential candidates are increasingly speaking of gun violence in highly personal terms, recounting how shootings have stolen their own relatives and friends and providing an emotional underpinning to new gun-control proposals that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has been talking about how his 11-year-old nephew was shot by a 10-year-old schoolmate. Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has recalled personally dealing with a massacre that killed 12 in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Former congressman Beto O’Rourke, who carries a photo of a shooting victim in his wallet, unleashed an expletive-laced response to a question about President Trump’s responsibility for the tragedy in El Paso, his hometown. (Sullivan, 8/6)
The Washington Post:
After A Weekend Of Mass Shootings, Democrats Are Cursing Inaction On Guns — Literally
As President Trump addressed the nation after a weekend of mass shootings, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) was watching. Reading from a teleprompter, Trump condemned the “barbaric slaughters” but did not blame lax gun laws for the 31 deaths in El Paso and Dayton. In his closing, Trump asked God to “bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo,” naming the wrong Ohio city. Shortly thereafter, Ryan, who rushed to Dayton after the tragedy, took to Twitter. (Wang, 8/6)
Reuters:
Factbox: Presidential Candidates Back Gun Restrictions In Wake Of Mass Shootings
Democratic presidential candidates have demanded action on proposals to curtail gun violence in the aftermath of two mass shootings that killed 31 people in Texas and Ohio over the weekend. Republican President Donald Trump - accused by Democrats and civil rights groups of stoking racial tensions with his rhetoric - also said he was open to "bipartisan solutions" to address violence but refrained from offering any new gun-control measures. Trump has insisted he is not a racist. (Whitesides and Gibson, 8/7)
Meanwhile, although President Donald Trump touts his efforts on gun control, his actions speak differently —
The Associated Press Fact Check:
Trump Distorting His Record On Gun Control
President Donald Trump is distorting his record when it comes to gun control. Speaking out this week against two mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, Trump asserted that his accomplishments in stemming gun violence stand out compared with previous presidents. He also suggested an unwavering commitment to improving mental health treatment. (Pane and Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/6)
Politico:
Trump Quietly Used Regulations To Expand Gun Access
President Donald Trump this week said his administration has done “much more than most” to help curb mass shootings in the United States. While Trump boasts of action on firearms, his administration has actually eased gun restrictions over the past two and a half years. Federal agencies have implemented more than half a dozen policy changes — primarily through little-noticed regulatory moves — that expand access to guns by lifting firearms bans in certain locations and limiting the names on the national database designed to keep firearms away from dangerous people. (Kumar, 8/7)
Reuters:
After Shootings, Trump Reins In His Attacks-For Now
After back-to-back mass shootings in two states over the weekend spurred widespread condemnation of his rhetoric and style, President Donald Trump chose to suppress his instinct to attack his rivals - at least for now. Trump has spent a large part of the summer engaged in attacks on four minority congresswomen and an African-American lawmaker from Baltimore. He has long railed against illegal immigrants, characterizing a surge of asylum seekers from Central America as an "invasion." (Rampton and Mason, 8/6)
