A number of Democrats and Republicans alike are focusing their campaigns on gun policy ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, with many of them receiving failing grades from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast have both fallen from A ratings to F ratings, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The NRA previously gave Ryan an A rating, but he donated the money he’d received from the organization to Everytown and other groups advocating for gun bans, reported TheNYT, and his rating is currently an F.
We are grateful to @TimRyan who has decided to donate contributions from the NRA to SHP & other GVP groups to help prevent gun violence
— Sandy Hook Promise (@sandyhook) October 6, 2017
The NRA also gives Mast an F rating. He changed his stance to advocate for stricter gun laws following the February high school massacre in Parkland, Florida. Mast strongly supported Second Amendment rights before the shooting, but has since changed his tenor to support a ban on assault weapons and bump stocks, expanded background checks, and raising the legal gun purchasing age for certain weapons.
“The exact definition of assault weapon will need to be determined,” he said in an NYT op-ed. He added that he wouldn’t support a ban that “results in confiscating existing legally owned firearms.”
“In 2018, an F rating from the NRA is a badge of honor,” Everytown tweeted Monday.
In 2018, an F rating from the NRA is a badge of honor. https://t.co/ovgws0vywf
— Everytown (@Everytown) November 5, 2018
The NRA rates politicians based on their stances on gun rights.
Tallahassee, Florida / United States – February 21, 2018. Huge crowd participated at “Never Again” rally to protest and change gun laws after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Democratic army veteran Jason Crow is also looking to unseat longtime incumbent Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman. Crow seeks to ban military-style assault weapons, expand background checks and restrict high-capacity magazines. He also supports restrictions on concealed carry and bump stocks, according to his website. His opponent, Coffman, has an A rating from the NRA. (RELATED: High School Suspends Students Who Dressed As Columbine Shooters For Halloween)
“I’ve never needed an M4 or AR-15 or anything like it to deer, duck or rabbit hunt,” Crow said, according to TheNYT. “Nor would I need a weapon like that to defend my home or my family here in the United States.”
Colorado has been victim to a number of mass shootings. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris shot up Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, resulting in 13 casualties in addition to the two shooters and a number of others wounded. A gunman shot and killed 12 people at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” in Aurora in 2012. A former employee entered a Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora and killed four people in 1993, according to TheNYT.
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 29: Georgia State Senator Elena Parent speaks at a Moms Demand Action anti-gun, anti-NRA rally in Woodruff Park, on April 29, 2017 in Atlanta, GA.
“As somebody who’s grown up in this community, who has lived through many of our community tragedies,” Aurora resident Jessica Price told TheNYT. She is the co-founder of a Moms Demand Action local chapter. “I have never seen the energy around this issue like it is now,” she added.
The NRA has “a record number of dues-paying members and tens of millions of supporters who show up at the polls and vote for candidates who support our constitutional right to self-defense,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Baker, according to TheNYT.
Roughly 60 percent of Americans want stricter gun laws, according to an October Gallup poll.
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