2018 Gun Owners of Vermont Candidate Report
BERNIE SANDERS
2nd Amendment Stance: RABIDLY ANTI-GUN
District: National (S)
Contest: US SENATOR
Party: Independent

Additional Comments: While Bernie has voted against the Brady Bill (1993), voted to protect gun manufacturers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence (2005) and voted in favor of allowing firearms on Amtrak trains (2009), Bernie still supports a national "Assault Weapons" ban and Universal Background Checks!
He is in lock-step with Hillary in DISARMING AMERICA!
Bernie is NOT a friend to gun owners, nor the Constitution!

“I come from a state that has virtually no gun control, and yet I voted to ban certain types of assault weapons, I voted to close the gun show loophole and I voted for instant background checks.
“I hope that nobody in America disagrees that people, as in the case of the shooter here in Louisiana, who have a history of mental instability should not be having guns.”
People with criminal backgrounds, people who are abusing wives and girlfriends, should not be having guns.”
Sanders support of universal instant background checks and refusal of guns for anyone “who has a criminal background that is involved in domestic abuse situations or who are unstable.”
I believe that we need to make sure that certain types of guns used to kill people exclusively, not for hunting, should not be sold in the United States of America.”
“I think I can communicate with folks coming from urban states, where guns mean different things than they do in Vermont, where they’re used for hunting.”
On existing gun laws, Sanders replied, “Then we’ve got to make them stronger and we’ve got to make them more enforceable.”
In December he ADDED a list of gun control he wants:
“We need to significantly expand and improve background checks. Who is arguing that people who should not have guns because of a criminal background, because of mental problems should not be able to purchase guns? Very few Americans disagree with that.
“We need to renew the assault weapons ban. We need to end the sale of high capacity magazines.
“We need to make gun trafficking a federal crime and give law enforcement the tools they need to get illegal guns off the streets.
“We need to close the gun show loophole, as well as loopholes that allow gun purchasers to buy a gun after the waiting period expires without a completed background check."
“We need to close loopholes that allow domestic abusers and stalkers to obtain guns.
“We need to strengthen penalties for straw purchasers who buy guns from licensed dealers on behalf of someone prohibited from purchasing a gun."
Still think Bernie is your friend?
Bernie and those he stands with, are enemies of America's freedom and values.

Mailing Address:
PO BOX 391
BURLINGTON, VT 05402
Phone Number: (802) 862-1505
Send Email to BERNIE SANDERS: INFO@BERNIESANDERS.COM
Click Here for Website

2/17/18: Senator Sanders reaffirms his stance on gun control.
"he American people want sensible gun control. I believe we should ban these semi-automatic weapons…"

Source #1
10/3/17: Senator Bernie Sanders: "My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and all those wounded in the horrific Las Vegas shooting. I also want to thank the first responders who did an outstanding job responding to this tragedy, saving many lives.
"(Sunday) night’s attack is the deadliest mass shooting in our country's modern history, and this year there have been more mass shootings than days in the year. In light of the terrible tragedy in Las Vegas and mass shootings across the country, it should be clear to all that we have got to do everything we can to stop guns from falling into the hands of people who should not have them. It is long past time for Congress to take action on gun safety to save innocent lives."

Source #2
6/17/2016: USA Today "Bernie Sanders to return to Senate for gun vote"
Bernie has missed every single vote since January while running for office, BUT he is now going back for the first time to vote on an ANTI-GUN BILL!!!

Source #3
"Democrat Patrick Leahy and independent Bernie Sanders voted in favor of two of four gun control measures the Senate took up Monday — none of which garnered the necessary 60 votes to pass.
The votes came the week after Leahy joined a filibuster led by Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy demanding that the Republican leadership allow floor votes on gun control-related amendments to an appropriations bill.
On Monday, both Vermont senators voted for an amendment offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that The New York Times said would have blocked gun sales to people on the federal terrorism watch list. The Vermonters voted against a Republican-offered version that would have required a three-day waiting period for terrorism suspects to buy guns.
Sanders and Leahy both supported Murphy’s proposal to expand background checks for online and gun show purchases. But they opposed an amendment from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that would have increased funding for background checks but wouldn’t expand them."

Source #4
7/28/2015: Bernie Sanders Calls for Sweeping Gun Ban That Would Outlaw All Self-Defense Firearms
On Sunday's episode of NBC's Meet the Press, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told Chuck Todd that guns designed primarily to kill people, rather than to hunt animals, should be banned nationwide.

Source #5
Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders' Political Summary on Issue: Guns
Source #6
July 2015: Sen. Bernie Sanders: Ban All Guns Used For Self-Defense
Source #7
Dec 2012: Vt. Delegation Weighs In On Gun Laws
Senator Bernie Sanders voted for the original assault weapon ban back in 1994 and he's willing to consider a new ban. He says the debate will certainly be different after last week's tragedy.
"I hope it wakes the people of this country up and Congress up to understand that we have to deal with what is becoming an epidemic of mass killings," he said.
Sanders said it's critical to remember that there's no single answer to this problem and that a comprehensive solution is needed.
"It's a complicated problem which certainly deals with the need for a huge expansion in mental health capabilities in this country," said Sanders. "Frankly I think we have got to address the gratuitous violence that appears in so much media... and thirdly you've got to deal with the issue of guns."

Source #8
May 2015: Sanders told NPR:
“What guns are about in Vermont are not what guns are about in Chicago, Los Angeles or New York, where they’re used not for hunting or target practice but to kill people.
Talking about cultural divides in this country, you know, it is important for people in urban America to understand that families go out together and kids go out together and they hunt and enjoy the outdoors and that is a lifestyle that should not be condemned.”

Source #9
July 2015: Bernie Sanders Calls for Sweeping Gun Ban That Would Outlaw All Self-Defense Firearms!
On Sunday's episode of NBC's Meet the Press, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told Chuck Todd that guns designed primarily to kill people, rather than to hunt animals, should be banned nationwide!

Source #10
“I come from a state that has virtually no gun control, and yet I voted to ban certain types of assault weapons, I voted to close the gun show loophole and I voted for instant background checks.
“I hope that nobody in America disagrees that people, as in the case of the shooter here in Louisiana, who have a history of mental instability should not be having guns,” Sanders said.
“People with criminal backgrounds, people who are abusing wives and girlfriends, should not be having guns.”
Sanders reiterated his support of universal instant background checks and refusal of guns for anyone “who has a criminal background that is involved in domestic abuse situations or who are unstable.”
“Second of all, I believe that we need to make sure that certain types of guns used to kill people exclusively, not for hunting, should not be sold in the United States of America.”
He added, “Coming from a rural state, I think I can communicate with folks coming from urban states, where guns mean different things than they do in Vermont, where they’re used for hunting.”
Todd brought up the subject of existing gun laws, Sanders replied, “Then we’ve got to make them stronger and we’ve got to make them more enforceable.”

Source #11
8/30/2015: "I voted in a state, by the way, Jake, which has almost no gun control, not an easy vote -- I voted against the NRA, and I voted to ban certain types of semiautomatic weapons," he said. "I voted to eliminate this gun show loophole which allows people to purchase guns without a background check."
Source #12
10/11/2015: "Ban on assault weapons is a ‘commonsense’ policy"
Source #13
12/3/2015: The investigation of the killings by a married Muslim couple have not even begun and Bernie raises the call to disarm the American People!
DO NOT FOOL YOURSELF, Bernie is radically anti-gun and will do ANYTHING to see that the American People are disarmed. An armed population do NOT become slaves to their government.

Source #14
12/6/2015: FACE THE NATION interview by John Dickerson with Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders:
1. "I think it does not make sense to me that we have guns designed for military purposes that can kill enormous numbers of people in a very short period of time being sold and distributed in the United States."
2. "I support a ban on assault weapons."
There you have it from the horse's mouth. Don't EVER think Bernie is a friend to gun owners!
3. "I think we need to do away with the straw man provision so that people can legally buy guns, but then give them to criminals."
ANOTHER LIE from the Communist Senator, "straw purchasing" is ALREADY a federal crime!
4. "I believe we have got to do away with this gun show loophole."
THERE is no "loophole", we have gone over this a thousand times.
5. "About 40 percent of the guns in this country are sold outside of the purview of the instant background check process."
And yet ANOTHER LIE that just won't die. This talking point started in 1997 from a "telephone study" of 250 people. That study had a 50% response rate. That is 125 people. How many people got guns without background checks? 40%.
Why? Because federal background checks were not IMPLEMENTED UNTIL 1998! NO ONE went through a background check before they were enacted!!

Source #15
December 2015: Bernie Sanders tells America to SWAT lawful gun owners.
"Omitted from ABC Full Democrat Debate footage. Bernie Sanders on Guns and Profiling"

Source #16
1/5/2016: Welch, Sanders welcome Obama's plans on gun control
Source #17
2015: Bernie Sanders "FreedomWorks Scorecard" 1991-present.
Bernie has voted AGAINST freedom 92% of the time he has been in office!
Socialists will never vote to give the people the freedom they deserve because it does not fit their narrative.

Source #18
2015: Bernie Sanders' voting history shows his switch to anti-gun policies:
2015: Wants to ban any firearm that is not specifically designed for "hunting".
2013: Voted YES on banning high-capacity magazines of over 10 bullets.

Source #19
2015: "Oregon shooting exposes rift among Democrats on gun control"
Source #20
1/16/16: Sanders says he supports repealing gun manufacture immunity
Backtracking Sanders tries to keep up with Hillary's anti-gun rampage.

Source #21
1/17/2016: Fact checking the fourth Democratic presidential debate
Source #22
2/11/2016: ABC News Outdoor Show: Vermont vendors on surging Sanders
Source #23
Senators who support veterans rights took another stab at trying to defend the due process rights of those who have served our country.
Sen. Richard Burr's (R-N.C.) Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act would have guaranteed veterans due process rights in having their ability to own a gun stripped away.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, crossed over to add his yes vote to the amendment.

Source #24
12/5/2015: Sanders pushes new gun regulations
Sanders told the crowd ending mass shootings will not be easy but that the country needs to come together around “common sense ideas which I believe could be of some help in addressing this crisis.”
The Vermont Senator called for legislative measures addressing gun violence — including expanded instant background checks, an assault weapons ban<.U> and improved mental health capabilities, a push he first called for in a statement from his Senate office after the shooting.

Source #25
2016: On the Issues: Bernie Sanders on Gun Control
Socialist Jr Senator; previously Representative (VT-At-Large)

Source #26
3/8/2016:BizPac Review "Hipsters implode after NRA tweets support for Bernie Sanders"
Source #27

Copyright 2018 Gun Owners of Vermont
Last Updated: 11/03/2018
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