Bernie Sanders Will Co-Sponsor Gun Control Bill

Responding to pressure from critics, including Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced Thursday that he will co-sponsor a bill to repeal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers that he voted for in 2005.

The Guardian reports:

In 2005 Sanders voted for a bill that shields manufacturers and dealers from legal liability in cases “resulting from criminal or unlawful misuse” of their guns by a third party. Sanders was a member of the House of Representatives at the time, and 12 years earlier had voted against the Brady Bill, which imposed federal background checks and a waiting period on gun purchase. 

The bill, named after Ronald Reagan’s press secretary Jim Brady, paralyzed by an assassin’s gunshot meant for the president, eventually passed with Reagan’s endorsement. […]

On Wednesday staff for Sanders campaign met with Hector Adames, a gun control advocates who has joined with the Brady Campaign. Adames’ 13-year-old nephew was shot dead in a gun accident, and in 2009 the US supreme court rejected their challenge of protections for the gun industry.

In a call with reporters on Thursday, Adames said: “I can’t stop smiling, I’m almost in shock.” 

Adames said he and other advocates hoped for Sanders “to make a wrong a right. That he responded so quickly is almost amazing.”

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— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.