Subject: Re: Revised gun riff
From: Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>
To: Ron Klain <[email-masked]>
Cc: Jennifer Palmieri <[email-masked]>, Jake Sullivan <[email-masked]>, Brian Fallon <[email-masked]>, John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 13:48:12 -0500

*Wayne LaPierre Called The Signing Of The PLCAA "An Historic Day For
Freedom" And Said The Bill Was "The Most Significant Piece Of Pro-Gun
Legislation In Twenty Years."* "President George W. Bush today signed into
law the National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed "Protection of Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act" (S. 397) ending politically motivated lawsuits
designed to bankrupt law-abiding American firearm manufacturers and
retailers. S. 397 passed both chambers in Congress with broad bipartisan
support. "This is an historic day for freedom. I would like to thank
President Bush for signing the most significant piece of pro-gun
legislation in twenty years into law. History will show that this law
helped save the American firearms industry from collapse under the burden
of these ruinous and politically motivated lawsuits," said Wayne LaPierre,
NRA’s executive vice president." [NRA Press Release, 10/26/05
<https://web.archive.org/web/20120313094842/http:/www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=4228>
]

On Fri, Jan 8, 2016 at 1:47 PM, Ron Klain <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Just double check the NRA quote
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 8, 2016, at 1:46 PM, Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>
> wrote:
>
> I took Ron's riff and condensed to 375 words. What do you think?
>
>    - I was very proud of the President this week making a powerful
>    statement about the urgent need to end the epidemic of gun violence in
>    America.  His new executive actions include steps that I’ve advocated for
>    throughout this campaign.  We are losing 90 people a day to gun violence,
>    so the President is right: this is a national crisis.  And, as he said,
>    voters should not support any candidate who does not support common-sense
>    gun reform.
>    - Democrats have a real choice here, because standing up to the gun
>    lobby is a big difference between Senator Sanders and myself.  The Brady
>    Bill has kept 2 million guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have
>    them -- Senator Sanders voted against it five times.  But that may not be
>    his worst vote on gun safety.
>    - Ten years ago, gun safety advocates wanted to take gun makers and
>    sellers to court for their reckless disregard for human life.  If an auto
>    company sells an unsafe car, you can sue them.  Unsafe food, unsafe tools,
>    unsafe toys – the makers can all be sued.  So the NRA wrote a bill that
>    said, “No one can sue a gun maker or a gun seller.”
>    - The bill came before Congress.  The pressure was intense.  *The head
>    of the NRA called the vote “the most significant piece of pro-gun
>    legislation in twenty years.”  And when it really mattered, Senator Sanders
>    voted with the NRA and I voted against the NRA.   *
>    - I would certainly understand if Senator Sanders would just stand up
>    and say, “I got this one wrong.  I made a mistake.  I’m sorry.”  But he
>    hasn’t.  He’s defended his vote time and again.  He’s said he would
>    “consider” some changes to the law – but that was almost 90 days ago – and
>    where are the changes?
>    - And so, go back to what President Obama said -- this immunity issue
>    is one of his most important concerns.  The President of the United States
>    will not support any candidate who is wrong on gun safety.  Unless Senator
>    Sanders changes his position on immunity for gun sellers and gun makers,
>    he’s wrong on gun safety, wrong on the leading cause of death for young
>    people in our country, and the wrong candidate for President.
>
>