Clinton appears with former congresswoman Gabby Giffords in New Hampshire, where she trails Bernie Sanders, to paint herself as true opponent of NRA

Hillary Clinton attempted to focus voters’ minds on gun control in New Hampshire on Wednesday, saying there was a “big difference” between her and Bernie Sanders on the issue.



Speaking alongside former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head during a public event in 2011, Clinton moved to paint herself as the true opponent of the National Rifle Association.

“There have been a lot of good days when I have stood with friends like the Brady campaign and Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly to take on the gun lobby relentlessly, persistently,” she told voters in the state which holds the next primaries in the presidential race next Tuesday.



The Brady bill was named after James Brady, who was shot during the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. It was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1993 and mandated federal background checks on gun purchases in the US.



Sanders voted against the bill. In 2005 he also voted for a bill that prevented gun manufacturers and dealers from being sued by third parties when their firearms are used criminally.

Last week he announced he would reverse that decision and co-sponsor a bill to repeal those protections.

However, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has praised Clinton’s record on guns and continued to criticize Sanders.

“Hillary Clinton is not only a long-time champion of the life-saving Brady law, she has made gun violence prevention a centerpiece of her campaign,” Dan Gross, the organization’s president, said in statement on Tuesday. Gross noted Hillary’s Iowa victory speech highlighted her commitment “to stand up to the corporate gun lobby to build the safer America we all deserve”.



“Bernie Sanders didn’t even mention the epidemic of gun violence last night, perhaps because – after voting against the Brady Bill five times and for PLCAA [Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act] twice – he has been on the wrong side of this issue for so long.”

Clinton, appearing in Derry, 16 miles south of Manchester, contrasted Sanders’ positions with her own record, saying she had fought for gun law reform “for many years”.

“This is a big difference in this campaign,” she said. “I have been standing up relentlessly calling out the gun lobby and doing what I can to penetrate the fear, the acquiescence, the intimidation that too many elected officials feel in the face of their threatening political retaliation.”

Clinton was introduced by Giffords, who was shot in January 2011 as she hosted a public meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed in the attack, which left 12 others injured.

Giffords said she was still struggling with her speech due to injuries from the shooting, but told the crowd: “Hillary is tough. Hillary is courageous. She will fight to make our families safer. In the White House she will stand up to the gun lobby. [That is] why I’m voting for Hillary.”



Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, set up lobby group Americans for Responsible Solutions following the shooting to campaign for better gun control.



Kelly said Clinton’s “record on this issue is like no one else’s”. “The country needs a president who is going to stand up to the gun lobby and stand up to commonsense solutions for gun violence that are ripping our communities apart. I’m here today to tell you that there is only one candidate running for president who can do that and that is Hillary Clinton,” he said.

Clinton’s and Sanders’ contrasting records on gun control have become an increasingly important issue on the campaign, and that was evident among the crowd in Derry.

“I think he could be a little more stringent. I think he’s probably more lenient on the availability, how you get the guns,” said Lesli Isaac, 50. “I agree with Hillary’s stand on gun reform.”

Rodney Decormier, from Derry, said the gun crisis was “severe”. He recalled the 2012 school shooting in neighboring Connecticut that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.



“The morning of Newtown I had a niece and nephew who were six years old and they were one town over. I spent half the day wondering if they were OK. That changed my perspective and it became very personal for me,” Decormier said.



“There’s definitely some space between them,” he said of Clinton’s and Sanders’ record on guns. “I know in the last [debate] he has hedged his position a little bit.”

Amy McLellan, from Londonderry, said she was undecided who to vote for in the primary. She said gun control was an important issue.

“It’s a big issue because I’m very concerned about the safety of my children and I can’t protect them against a gun,” she said. “[Sanders] voted against gun control.”



Alan Rice, the vice-president of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, a gun rights advocacy group, told the Guardian that Sanders’ record on gun was “less bad” than Clinton’s, but “that doesn’t make him good”.



By contrast, he said, Ted Cruz’s record on gun rights was “excellent” and Marco Rubio’s record “almost as good”.



Rice said Donald Trump’s record as a champion of the second amendment right to bear arms was much more dubious, despite his gun rights rhetoric.



“We view anyone from New York City with great suspicion,” he said. “It’s a part of the country where individual freedom and liberty do not exist. The things that we do every day in New Hampshire that are perfectly lawful but will put you in jail in New York.



“If Mr Trump is as supportive as he claims to be of the second amendment, why hasn’t he used his wealth and influence to assist in lawsuits that attempt to roll back New York state’s oppressive gun control laws?”

