Biden voted with the NRA when the Senate, and the nation, were very different. The 1986 bill allowed firearms to be sold by mail and limited inspections of dealers while allowing them to sell at gun shows.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-voted-nra-when-senate-nation-were-very-different-n997311
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As Biden prepares to launch his 2020 presidential run on Thursday, guns are an area of his decades-long record in public life in which he has been consistently in line with the values of today's Democratic Party.
But still, potential political dangers lurk, even on his signature issue — including a vote in favor of a 1986 bill that the NRA has called "the law that saved gun rights" in America.
The Firearm Owners Protection Act, which passed Congress overwhelmingly, overturned six Supreme Court rulings and numerous regulations, leaving a lasting legacy as
one of the most consequential gun laws of the past century and as a key political boost for the burgeoning gun rights movement.
The
measure allowed dealers to sell rifles, shotguns and ammunition through the mail, and, eventually, the internet.
It limited federal inspections of firearms dealers while allowing them to sell guns at gun shows, which helped them grow in size and popularity. And it made it easier for private collectors to sell guns without obtaining a federal dealers' license, which would
play a role in what later became known as the "gun show loophole." (It also banned machine guns, thanks to an amendment slipped in by House Democrats at the last minute.)
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While some liberals fought the legislation, Biden and other Democrats — including initially Kennedy, though he later opposed the bill —
helped find a compromise that maintained rules on handguns while eliminating all exemptions on interstate sales or transportation of "long guns," including rifles and shotguns.
"I believe the compromises that are now a part of this bill have resulted in a balanced piece of legislation that protects the rights of private gun owners while not infringing on law enforcement's ability to deal with those who misuse guns or violate laws,"
Biden said at the time.
"During my 12 and a half years as a member of this body, I have never believed that additional gun control or federal registration of guns would reduce crime. I am convinced that a criminal who wants a firearm can get one through illegal, nontraceable, unregistered sources, with or without gun control," he continued.
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Congratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
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