Hillary Clinton Wins Top Gun Control Award
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.24.15
Last week the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence awarded Hillary Clinton the “Mario Cuomo Visionary Award” for her efforts in pushing for gun control.
The award, which was given out at the organization’s annual Bear Awards gala in New York City, was named after former New York Governor and anti-gun activist Mario Cuomo, the father of current New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo.
Clinton is the first person to receive the new award.
“Throughout her career as a public servant, Hillary Clinton has repeatedly put the safety of the American people above the influence and interests of the corporate gun lobby,” Brady president Dan Gross told CBS News. “She serves as an example for all policymakers who truly want to serve the constituencies they are elected to represent.”
As a presidential candidate, Clinton has been very vocal about her thoughts regarding gun control. Clinton previously said that lawmakers should be focused on closing regulatory “loopholes” for firearm sales at gun shows and internet retailers, hold gun makers accountable for crimes committed with their firearms, and, in the most recent Democratic presidential debate, Clinton reiterated that she was proud of her pro-gun control history—specifically mentioning the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, which was passed while she was First Lady. At the debate Clinton also criticized Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) for opposing the act in 1993, as well as the NRA for exerting its influence on politicians.
“The problem is not finding common ground. The problem is politicians finding the courage,” Clinton said at the awards ceremony.
In response, the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action described Clinton’s remarks as “hollow rhetoric” and criticized her in turn for using recent events as yet another excuse to push for additional gun control measures.
“After repeating a number of misrepresentations (for instance, Clinton called ‘gun violence’ a ‘national emergency’ when in reality violent crime is at a near all–time low) Clinton added pandering to her repertoire by using the recent terror attacks in Paris as an excuse to further restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans. Like so many other anti-gun activists, Clinton seems capable of adapting almost any tragedy as a reason to pass more gun laws, even tragedies that involve explosives and illegal arms in France,” the NRA-ILA stated.
The organization further added that the awards ceremony was little more than a “night of anti-gun self-aggrandizement.”
