Gun Control Groups At Odds In Bucks Co. Race For Congress

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — With just weeks to go until Election Day, the race for congress in Bucks County is heating up and one critical issue appears to be at the crux of the debate — gun policy, and more specifically, reducing gun violence.

Both candidates, incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic challenger Scott Wallace, are working hard to convince voters that they are the advocate Bucks County needs in Washington to tackle this safety issue. Fitzpatrick has touted his leadership on the issue thus far, while Wallace says his opponent's actions aren't enough.

But even gun control advocates can't agree on which candidate to support, and in some groups it is causing a rift between leadership at the national level and the local volunteers, sources say.

Fitzpatrick has received at least three endorsements from gun control groups, including the most recent one this week from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Giffords, a gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has previously endorsed Fitzpatrick, as has Everytown For Gun Safety.

Wallace, who has been vocal about his support for a federal ban on military-style assault weapons, this week garnered the endorsement of the Newtown Action Alliance, an organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

Giffords was the first to endorse Fitzpatrick, and did so in a June announcement. The organization, which is spearheading the #VoteCourage campaign in an effort to elect "gun safety champions," said Fitzpatrick is a "leader in the Republican caucus on the issue of gun safety."

Giffords highlighted his rejection of concealed carry reciprocity as the impetus for its support.

However, in a letter drafted for concerned constituents following the vote, Fitzpatrick said he opposed the bill because it contained “extraneous provisions” that "undermined the goals of a clean reciprocity bill." He further stated he looked forward to supporting final passage of the bill, calling reciprocity a "critical step in protecting Second Amendment rights from the whims of partisan legislators and activist judges."

The Brady Campaign cited Fitzpatrick's co-sponsorship of legislation to expand background checks as evidence of merit for the endorsement. It also applauded his support of raising the minimum age for purchasing semiautomatic rifles to 21.

Everytown's endorsement of Fitzpatrick was one of 70 given by the group nationwide. In the announcement, Everytown President John Feinblatt called the batch of supported candidates "gun sense champions."

And Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an arm of Everytown, said the organization's volunteers "will be with them every step of the way to elect leaders who will finally end this crisis.”

Not so in Bucks County, where the endorsement of Fitzpatrick prompted several leaders to leave the organization in protest, saying they could not “meaningfully volunteer our time under the umbrella of an organization that makes decisions which impede the progress of our gun violence prevention goals," a New York Times report said.

But not all gun control organizations are lining up behind Fitzpatrick. Newtown Action Alliance supported Wallace and 10 other congressional candidates in Pennsylvania because they back a federal ban on assault weapons. Fitzpatrick supports raising the age to purchase an assault weapon but not an outright ban.

That position wasn't quite enough for Newtown Action Alliance, who said in its endorsement announcement: "Polls demonstrate that 67% of Americans support a ban on assault weapons and it’s time for Americans to elect congressional representatives who will listen."

Wallace, who earlier this month attended a Bucks Students Demand Action event in New Hope, said in a statement following the Newtown Action Alliance endorsement that it’s "unacceptable for our children to live in fear because their leaders aren’t doing enough to protect them."

He called the assault weapons ban "real action."

So where do the candidates stand on gun control issues?

Here's a look:

FITZPATRICK

• Supports increasing the age to purchase an assault weapon to 21 years old.
• Supports closing the bump stock loophole, co-sponsoring legislation to regulate bump stocks and functionally equivalent devices.
• Supports a background check system to cover all commercial firearm sales, including those at gun shows, over the internet or in classified ads while providing reasonable exceptions for family and friend transfers.
• Supports improvements in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, including federal grants for states to upgrade software and the removal of obsolete records.

WALLACE

• Supports a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, bump stocks and silencers.
• Supports background checks on every gun purchase
• Supports closing the loopholes for gun shows, internet sales and transfers.
• Pledges to "take on the NRA" and gold gun manufacturers to the "same legal standard as every other industry whose products negligently cause death."

Election Day is Nov. 6. The polls in Pennsylvania are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Click here to locate your polling place.