Democrats have embraced gun control as their issue going into the 2018 issue, a repeat of 1994 when the issue fed a Republican tidal wave that gave them control of the House and Senate.

The party and likely 2018 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders signaled their moves this week when they joined with gun control advocate Gabby Giffords in campaign emails.

The Democratic National Committee sent out an email today that asked supporters to take the anti-gun pledge of the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot and nearly killed.

It said, “The only way this cycle of gun violence will end is when politicians realize they have more to fear from all of us together than they do from the gun lobby. Take Gabby Giffords' pledge: ‘I promise that I will Vote Courage in November and support candidates who will stand up to the gun lobby and take action to make our communities safer from gun violence.’”

And yesterday, Giffords sent out her own message via Sanders’ email list. She wrote:

“Bernie Sanders has fought to reduce the epidemic levels of gun violence in this country. And at the end of the day, both of us know that the root of this issue lies in the outrageous amounts of money the corporate gun lobby spends buying candidates and elected officials.

“So if we want to change the equation, that means Congress must realize they have more to fear from all of us standing together and acting than they do from the gun lobby's money.”

She and her group also are targeting Florida Republican Rick Scott in a new ad.



Since last week’s Florida school shootings, there have been calls for gun control, with Democrats begging for a repeat of the 1994 assault weapons ban signed by former President Bill Clinton.

While it wasn’t the only issue that crushed Democrats in the midterm elections that year, it was a driving force in handing the GOP control of the House for the first time in 40 years.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com