The Vermont senator still wants to protect small gun stores. | Getty Following Clinton attacks, Sanders rolls out support for gun legislation

CHARLESTON, S.C. — After weeks of fighting with Hillary Clinton’s campaign over his gun control record, Bernie Sanders on Saturday night said he backs new legislation that amends a controversial 2005 law on which he voted to limit liability on gun manufacturers.

That vote has been at the center of substantial sniping from Clinton allies, and the former secretary of state has been using it as an example of Sanders being out of step with the party on gun control.


“I’m pleased that this legislation is being introduced,” said Sanders of legislation from Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Adam Schiff. “As I have said for many months now, we need to look at the underlying law and tighten it up."

Still, Sanders will not be co-sponsoring the legislation, said his communications director, Michael Briggs.

Cheering the legislation’s move to leave in place child safety locks and ban armor-piercing ammunition, Sanders also warned that he still wanted to protect smaller gun stores.

“I do want to make sure that this legislation does not negatively impact small gun stores in rural America that serve the hunting community. So I’m pleased to support the legislation and should it come up for consideration I would work to make sure it includes a provision that allows us to monitor is impact so that we may determine if it is having any unintended consequences."

Sanders’ contention that gun control means something different in his rural state of Vermont than in more urban areas has been a central flash-point in the Democratic primary, and his proposed measure to help small hunting shops is in line with that stance.

But Clinton has sought to paint Sanders as far from President Barack Obama and other Democrats on gun control, partly because of his 2005 vote. She has recently rolled out endorsements from prominent gun control reformers, including former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, and Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin.

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta tweeted Saturday evening: "The Clinton campaign welcomes Senator Sanders' debate-eve conversion, reversing his vote to immunize gun manufacturers."

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also backed Clinton last week, and in the statement supporting her, president Dan Gross called the 2005 legislation “truly evil."

Schiff, who along with Blumenthal supports Clinton over Sanders, welcomed the support on Saturday night, but called the previous legislation "a serious mistake [that] has done tremendous damage to efforts to secure responsible business practices in the gun industry, and to reduce gun violence."