Sen. Amy Klobuchar
by Ryan Nix
Presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar began her visit to Little Rock with a brief press conference about addressing the gun violence epidemic in America. The senator was introduced by Arkansas House Minority Leader Fred Love, who began with extolling the failure of a stand-your-ground bill last March, which he believes is a lead-up to Arkansas becoming more open to other types of gun reform. Also in attendance were Moms Demand Action of Arkansas, representatives of a nationwide pro-gun reform organization.
Sen. Klobuchar touted her electoral history, decrying the idea that Democrats lose when they take strong positions on gun control.
“If you think it’s impossible to win when you talk about gun reform, I’ve been talking and legislating gun reform throughout my career, and I’ve won every race, every place, every time,” Klobuchar says. “There are currently three popular gun reform bills on Mitch McConnell’s desk. The first will close the Charleston Loophole, which allows firearm purchases if a background check takes over three days, which allowed Dylann Roof to kill nine people in 2015. The second bill is for universal background checks, the third is less known, but it’s meant to close the Boyfriend loophole.”
Currently, men and women convicted of serious domestic abuse against a spouse are not able to procure a firearm. However, unmarried abusers convicted of the same crimes are still able to buy guns. As part of the 2019 Violence Against Women Act, the provision addressing so-called Boyfriend Loophole is meant close that gap. “Half of domestic homicides involve boyfriends and girlfriends, so this is a loophole we need to close,” says Klobuchar.
Klobuchar also took aim at President Trump. “I had the opportunity to meet with the president after the Parkland shooting. I sat and watched while Mr. Trump repeatedly stated his support for universal background checks, in fact, I had a pen and paper and tallied every time he said it,” Klobuchar recounts, “Nine times he said he was for universal background checks, so we were feeling hopeful. The next day, he met with the NRA and guess what, he folded. We’re tired of folding. It’s time to change.”
Klobuchar also expressed her willingness to enact gun reform through executive action. “As president, I’m confident in my ability to work with Congress. I’m very good at working with them, I’ve passed over a hundred bills as lead Democrat with bipartisan support. However, there are plenty of things you can do legally through executive order, like closing the boyfriend and Charleston loopholes.”
In addition, Klobuchar mentioned as vital to the gun reform movement is allowing the Center for Disease Control to restart research on gun control, something NRA lobbying has prevented for several years. Klobuchar finished the news conference, saying, “I believe in facts and truth, and in the wide public support for these common-sense gun reforms. Nothing I pass will hurt hunters or other responsible gun owners.”
READ MORE: Two Democratic Party Presidential Contenders Heading to Little Rock
