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With his stance on gun control under attack from a Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Sunday defended what he called his “strong record” and called for a national dialogue to produce “common-sense legislation” balancing public safety against gun rights.

“What we need to do is bridge the cultural divide” between rural gun-rights advocates in states like his, and urban gun-control proponents, Mr. Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

“We can’t have people demagoguing against folks just because they go out and hunt and they own guns,” he said. “On the other hand, rural America has got to understand that guns in Vermont are not the same thing as guns in Chicago that are used to kill kids or to shoot at police officers.”

In a new web ad released Thursday, a super PAC supporting former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, another Democratic contender, attacked Mr. Sanders over his votes against background checks and in support of legal protection for gun manufacturers in lawsuits. The ads called Mr. Sanders “no progressive when it comes to guns.”

Mr. Sanders smiled as part of the ad was shown as he was interviewed, saying that the attack ignored other important votes he had made in support of stricter gun controls – including voting to ban assault weapons and do away with the so-called gun-show loophole on gun purchases.