Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blasted the NRA and called for more gun control following the May 31, 2019, Virginia Beach shooting.

Bernie Sanders brought up the NRA and demanded more gun control in a tweet that was sent before details of the shooting had been reported.

He tweeted:

Jane and I are grieving for the victims in Virginia Beach and their families. The days of the NRA controlling Congress and writing our gun laws must end. Congress must listen to the American people and pass gun safety legislation. This sickening gun violence must stop. https://t.co/iSAtYWg7HH — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 31, 2019

On March 21, 2019 — less than one week after the mosque attack in Christchurch — Breitbart News reported Sanders’ calls for the U.S. to adopt New Zealand-style gun controls. Those controls include a ban on numerous commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles, pump shotguns, “high-capacity” magazines, and certain gun parts.

Sanders praised New Zealand gun controls, tweeting, “This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand’s lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.