Democrat Joe Donnelly’s Gun Control Support Harms Re-Election Chances in Red Indiana

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) has a history of voting with gun control proponents and that history is harming his re-election chances as the midterm elections draw near.

On October 8, Breitbart News reported that Donnelly pushed gun control during the Senate debate with his Republican challenger, Mike Braun. NWI.com reported that he specifically pushed for an end to the “gun show loophole” and for the no-fly list to be added to background checks.

Donnelly’s attacks on gun shows are part of the Democrats’ decades-old attempt to outlaw private gun sales via expanded background checks. His push to add the no-fly list to the background check system is part of a gun control effort that was defeated on the grounds that it forces forfeiture of Second Amendment rights because of accusations instead of convictions. In other words, it mandates a scenario in which one is presumed guilty until proven innocent.

In March Donnelly took part in student gun control activists’ March for Our Lives, showing his support for more gun control in response to the February 14, Parkland high school shooting.  Ironically, the Parkland shooting was carried out with a legally purchased rifle–the purchaser passed a background check. 

Fox 55 Ft. Wayne reported that Donnelly was quick to push gun control after the Parkland shooting. Two weeks after the shooting he pushed background checks for gun shows and sought to add the no-fly list. Neither of these gun controls would have hindered, much less stopped, the Parkland attack because the shooter already passed a background check and was not on a no-fly list. In the end, Donnelly was simply pushing gun control for the sake of gun control.

The NRA endorsed Republican Mike Braun in the race against Donnelly and Vice President Mike Pence has campaigned for Braun in Indiana.

Gun controller Joe Biden campaigned for Donnelly.

On October 22, Breitbart News reported that pro-Second Amendment Mike Braun is surging in the race.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.