Sep 19, 2019

MSNBC to host gun safety forum for 2020 Democrats

Fadel Allassan

Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

MSNBC is partnering with March for Our Lives and a nonprofit founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting, to host a gun safety forum featuring 10 2020 Democrats on Oct. 2.

Why it matters: Activism around gun violence has been more sustained than usual since mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton last month, per Axios' Neal Rothschild. Immigration, which had been the top issue in terms of social media interactions throughout much of 2019, is now in second place behind guns.

  • Nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. died from gun wounds in 2017 according to data from the CDC.

Details: The forum will be held in Las Vegas one day after the two-year anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The participants: The event will feature a lineup identical to the third Democratic debate, including ...

  • Joe Biden
  • Cory Booker
  • Pete Buttigieg
  • Julián Castro
  • Kamala Harris
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Beto O'Rourke
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Elizabeth Warren
  • Andrew Yang

Go deeper: March for Our Lives launches gun control plan to spur 2020 youth vote

Go deeper

Marisa Fernandez

Cory Booker proposes gun control plan

Sen. Cory Booker. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

2020 presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced a sweeping 14-part gun control plan in May.

Why it matters: The plan features some of the most progressive measures to combat gun violence proposed by any 2020 candidate. It's Booker's attempt to stand out in an increasingly crowded field, as he leans on his experience as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, to boost his credibility on the issue of gun violence.

Go deeperArrowUpdated Oct 3, 2019
Orion Rummler

Where 2020 Democrats stand on gun control

Warren and Biden on the debate stage on Jan. 14. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a new gun reform bill on Thursday with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) that calls for raising the minimum age for all gun purchases to 21 and increasing the excise tax on gun sales to 30% and ammunition sales to 50%.

The big picture: 2019's mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Virginia Beach; and near Odessa, Texas, have pushed 2020 Democrats to take harder stances on gun control than in the last presidential election, when Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton only briefly addressed the issue in their primary debate.

Go deeperArrowUpdated Jan 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy
Alexi McCammond

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Las Vegas. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Former Vice President Joe Biden is out with an 11-page proposal to end gun violence in the United States.

The big picture: Biden's plan would ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but it would not call for a mandatory assault weapons buyback program as Beto O'Rourke has proposed.

Go deeperArrowOct 2, 2019