Kirsten Gillibrand calls for assault weapon and large magazine bans to combat gun violence

WARNER, N.H. — Presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said that she does not support creating a federal firearm licensing system.

“No, I think there is a better approach,” Gillibrand told the Washington Examiner at a campaign stop in Warner, N.H., on Saturday, when asked about a plan proposed by primary rival Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

“To end gun violence, I would do three things,” she said. “I would, No. 1, pass universal background checks, which are commonsense and supported by 70% of America.”

Her second move would be a federal law against trafficking guns. “Because for cities like Newark, N.J., and cities like New York City, the guns are trafficked from out of state into the hands of criminals. And those networks aren’t even a federal crime,” she said.

“And third, I would ban the bump stocks, the large magazines, and the military-style assault weapons.”

The New York senator also said she would ensure more support for mental health in an effort to prevent mass shootings.

Booker’s campaign called his plan to end gun violence the “most sweeping gun violence prevention plan ever put forth by a presidential candidate.”

Gillibrand received an “A” rating from the National Rife Association when she was a congresswoman representing a district in upstate New York, but the NRA downgraded her to a “F” in 2010 after she was appointed senator. She said in February that she was “embarrassed” by the A rating and attributed her shift in opinion to meeting with urban victims of gun violence rather than seeing the issue only through the lens of upstate New York.

Around 80 people attended Gillibrand’s meet and greet at Main Street Bookends in Warner, where she touted her legislative and electoral achievements including winning an election in a Republican district.