CNN Shields Democrat Candidates from Going on Record on Gun Control

During the July 31, 2019, CNN-hosted Democrat debate, not a single question about candidates’ positions on gun control was floated.

No explanation was given. The subject simply was not broached by debate moderators Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper.

This allowed Democrats to talk about campaign pledges like raising taxes, reducing military spending, and implementing a green new deal, without also having to say they plan on banning certain guns and taking them from you via government-sponsored buybacks. Joe Biden was vocal about his support for such buybacks during the June 27, 2019, Democrat debate.

Ignoring the topic of gun control also allowed candidates like Cory Booker to avoid pushing gun controls that have been on the books in California for over 20 years but have failed to stop every high-profile shooting in the state in the 21st century.

For example, Booker supports universal background checks, an “assault weapons” ban, and a TSA-style interview that would-be gun owners would have to pass before being allowed to buy a firearm. California adopted universal background checks in the early 1990s and an “assault weapons” ban a few years before that. They also require would-be gun buyers to prove firearm safety proficiency and obtain a certificate from the state before buying a gun. None of these controls prevented the July 28, 2019, Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, or the November 7, 2018, Borderline Bar & Grill shooting, or any of the numerous other high-profile shootings that California has witnessed in recent years.

The absence of a question on gun control also spared Kamala Harris from reminding voters of her plan to bypass Congress and implement gun control by executive order. She says she will give Congress 100 days to see things her way, thereafter it is game on.

Was it a simple oversight that Bash, Lemon, and Tapper did not bring up gun control? Or was it an attempt to spare the political fate that befell Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) after gun control became his central issue?

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.