Democratic presidential candidate Martin OMalley, former governor of Maryland, speaks during a news conference on stopping gun violence at the College of Southern Nevada, Charleston Campus, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015.
Published Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015 | 3:18 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015 | 5:07 p.m.
After squabbling with Bernie Sanders over gun control at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley continued today to question the Vermont senator’s voting record.
During an event at the College of Southern Nevada, he stood alongside Sandie and Lonnie Phillips, parents who suffered the loss of a daughter in the Aurora, Colo., theater mass shooting in 2012.
O’Malley, a former Maryland governor, let them tell their story about the years since the shooting. They also criticized Sanders’ controversial record on firearms.
“Bernie Sanders has been flip-flopping for years on guns,” Sandie Phillips said to a small crowd of reporters and students. “On guns, I can’t back him.”
O’Malley, who joined front-runner Hillary Clinton in attacking Sanders during the debate, presented himself today as an alternative to Sanders, who has strong support from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
“We need our leaders to make themselves politically vulnerable and come forward,” O’Malley said.
Sanders, whose state has a deep-seated hunting tradition, has voted against expanded federal background checks and supported a measure that gives gun dealers and manufactures immunity from civil lawsuits.
A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit the Phillips family field against the dealer that sold 4,000 rounds of ammunition to Aurora shooter James Holmes, who was convicted on 24 counts of murder.
O’Malley’s move to go after Sanders on the gun issue comes at a desperate time for his campaign. Before the debate, he had little national support but is now positioning himself as the strongest advocate for gun reform.
He’s calling for a ban on assault rifles and stiffer penalties for gun traffickers, while touting a record of passing tough gun laws in his home state.
He said Americans will be like “lambs to the slaughter” until Congress passes reforms.
“We can protect hunting traditions and American lives at the same time,” he said.
O’Malley jabbed the National Rifle Association during his speech at CSN and boasted during the debate that the group was one of his political enemies.
But, according to disclosures first released by The Intercept, the Democratic Governors Association under O’Malley’s leadership accepted $40,000 from the pro-gun group in 2012.
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