Nicole Gaudiano

USA TODAY

Bernie Sanders is suggesting Hillary Clinton may want to shut down the country's gun industry.

The democratic socialist, doubling down on comments during last night’s debate, told reporters Monday that licensed gun manufacturers shouldn’t be held liable when someone uses a weapon “irresponsibly.” To do so would mean “you’re shutting down the entire industry.”

“If Secretary Clinton’s position is that there should not be any more guns in America, fine,” Sanders told reporters. “She should be honest and say that, because that is really what that means.”

Sanders advanced his theory during the debate when asked what he would say to families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. They are suing Bushmaster Firearms International and parent manufacturer Remington Arms, which produces the AR-15 used in the 2012 attack.

“If they understand that they’re selling guns into an area that — it’s getting into the hands of criminals, of course they should be held liable,” he said then. “But if they are selling a product to a person who buys it legally, what you’re really talking about is ending gun manufacturing in America. I don’t agree with that.”

Clinton’s website describes gun ownership as “part of the fabric of many law-abiding communities.” But she has hammered Sanders for his gun record, including his vote in 2005 for legislation that limits gun manufacturers and dealers’ legal liability. At the debate, she said he was taking the position of the National Rifle Association when it lobbied in favor of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA.

On Monday, the NRA tweeted that Sanders’ comments were “spot-on.”

Sanders co-sponsored legislation in January to repeal those legal protections. But the bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also said in an interview Monday that Sanders’ comments are reminiscent of the NRA’s 2005 position.

“It disturbs me to hear that argument now, particularly from someone who claims to support PLCAA’s repeal,” said Schiff, who has endorsed Clinton.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which has also endorsed Clinton, says Sanders needs to “choose sides.”

“Senator Sanders cannot have it both ways,” Dan Gross, the group’s president, said in a statement Monday. “You cannot simultaneously co-sponsor the repeal of gun industry protections in the Senate but advocate for those very same protections while on the campaign trail. With the NRA touting Sanders’ support today, it’s time for the candidate to explain to voters once and for all exactly where he stands on this issue.”