Debate Hints That Gun Control Will Be Key 2020 Issue: ‘If You Need A License To Drive A Car, You Should Need A License To Own A Firearm’
The topic of gun violence dominated a decent amount of time during the first night of the debates, a sign that it could play a major role in the race. It shows the shifting tides of the gun control movement that was invigorated after the Parkland shooting. While Sen. Elizabeth Warren played it cautiously, Sen. Cory Booker took a firmer stance.
If there was any doubt that gun control will be a big issue in the 2020 Democratic primary, the first round of debates helped put that to rest. For 15 minutes, led with a question by moderator Chuck Todd referencing the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the candidates spoke extensively about gun control. The candidates even tried to one-up each other 鈥 Cory Booker, for one, brought up his plan to require a license to buy and own a firearm. (Lopez, 6/26)
The question from Chuck Todd to Senator Elizabeth Warren was direct: 鈥淲hat do you do about the hundreds of millions of guns already out there, and does the federal government have to play a role in dealing with them?鈥 It was an effective query, one that, arguably, cuts to the heart of America鈥檚 gun problem, which claimed nearly forty thousand lives last year. A 2017 study estimated that there are three hundred and ninety-three million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, a rate of 120.5 guns for every hundred residents, twice that of the second-highest nation, Yemen. Yet Warren, who has been battling with Senator Bernie Sanders to win over the Democratic Party鈥檚 left wing, sidestepped the question. She offered up a quotable sound bite鈥斺淕un violence is a national health emergency in this country, and we need to treat it like that鈥濃攁nd talked about the need to 鈥渄ouble down on research,鈥 an allusion to how the N.R.A. succeeded, during the mid-nineteen-nineties, in effectively cutting off federal funding for gun-violence research. (Luo, 6/26)
Overall, [Booker's] performance struck a balance of introducing himself to a broader audience and leaning into race issues, while detailing his policies, including on guns. 鈥淚f you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to buy and own a firearm,鈥 Booker said to big applause. (Siders and Korecki, 6/27)
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced a 14-part plan earlier this year to address gun violence, and it is one of the most progressive gun-control measures suggested by a candidate seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. (Corasaniti, 6/26)
