UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
Jun 5, 2017
Martha McSally not only opposes universal background checks, she considers them unconstitutional.
When asked about the “gun show loophole” that allows buyers to purchase guns without a background check at gun shows or on the Internet, McSally had this to say:
“That’s not a loophole. It’s freedom. And absolutely, it needs to stay that way, because any restrictions on that, at gun shows or other places, is just absolutely unconstitutional.”[1]
The Supreme Court disagrees with her on that. In the DC vs. Heller ruling, Justice Scalia specified that laws intended to prohibit felons and the mentally ill from purchasing guns are “presumptively lawful.”[2]
A majority of her district disagrees with McSally, too. A 2014 survey of likely voters in AZ 02 showed that 86% think background checks for all gun purchases is “an excellent or good idea.”[3]
McSally does have the backing of the NRA; her 2016 NRA rating is 93%, and they have endorsed her in her last two campaigns. But the NRA itself does not enjoy as strong support as you might expect in the district that includes Tombstone, AZ. According to its own polling, in 2014 the NRA’s favorable/unfavorable ratio was 47/40.[4]
CONCEALED CARRY PERMITS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSERS/STALKERS
87% of likely voters in AZ 02 say that preventing the sale of guns to domestic abusers is “an excellent or good idea.”[5]
Rep. McSally has said that she has been stalked in the past. “I know what it feels like to worry constantly about when and where your stalker will appear next and what he’ll do. I wasn’t even safe in my own home or my car where my stalker broke in and held me in a hostage-like situation.”[6]
Despite this personal history, McSally signed on as a cosponsor of HR 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would “force each state to recognize concealed carry permits from every other state,” thereby “making the state with the weakest permitting standards the law of the land.”[7]
Currently, at least 30 states and DC deny permits to boyfriends convicted of domestic abuse, and/or subject to restraining orders. 27 states and DC deny permits to convicted stalkers. HR 38 would override those states’ laws.
[1] http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/fact-check/2014/09/15/fact-check-martha-mcsally-firearms-guns-giffords/15677961/
[2] http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws/the-second-amendment/the-supreme-court-the-second-amendment/dc-v-heller/
[3] http://americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ARS-AZ-02-PAC-Memo-F08.28.14.pdf
[4] http://twt-media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2015/05/20/NRA_GunVoters.pdf
[5] http://americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ARS-AZ-02-PAC-Memo-F08.28.14.pdf
[6] http://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/09/16/martha-mcsally-stalker-ad-giffords-kelly/15734479/
[7] https://everytownresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Everytown-Concealed-Carry-Reciprocity-Hudson-1.12.17.pdf