John McCain on Gun Control Republican nominee for President; Senior Senator (AZ)

I know how to use guns; but I don’t own one

A: For a long time I used a lot of guns, including carrying a .45 as a pilot flying in combat over Vietnam. I know how to use guns. I don’t own one now.

Prosecute criminals, not citizens for gun ownership

Don’t hold gun manufacturers liable for crimes

Opposes restrictions on assault weapons and ammunition types

• McCain opposes restrictions on so-called “assault rifles” and voted consistently against such bans.
• McCain opposes bans on the importation of certain types of ammunition magazines and has voted against such limitations.
• McCain believes that banning ammunition is just another way to undermine Second Amendment rights. He voted against an amendment that would have banned many of the most commonly used hunting cartridges on the spurious grounds that they were “armor-piercing.”

Calls for GOP “tolerance” of closing gun show loopholes

The NRA was particularly angry with him for its being included in his campaign finance reform bill, and for trying to tighten a loophole in the gun control laws. McCain himself was sufficiently concerned that he sent a 4-page, single-spaced letter to every GOP precinct leader in Arizona. He called for “greater tolerance” for Republicans “who occasionally dissent” from one or another majority position held by a party. He explained his vote against Bush’s tax cut and talked about the need to build up national defense, about his work on the patients’ bill of rights, and the gun show loophole.

Ban cheap guns; require safety locks; for gun show checks

Supports ban on certain assault weapons

Voted against Brady Bill & assault weapon ban

Guns are a problem, but so are violent web sites & videos

Punish criminals who abuse 2nd Amendment rights

Youth Violence Prevention Act restricts guns for kids

The legislation would:
• prevent juveniles from illegal access to weapons and punish those who would assist them in doing so
• prohibit juveniles who commit acts of gun violence from purchasing guns in the future
• sentence juveniles convicted of violent crimes under adult guidelines
• and punish juveniles who illegally carry or use handguns in schools.

Repeal existing gun restrictions; penalize criminal use

McCain supports the following principles regarding gun issues:
• Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
• Favor allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms.
• McCain says, “There are penalties for criminals who use firearms.”

Voted NO on banning high-capacity magazines of over 10 bullets.

• The term 'large capacity ammunition feeding device' means a magazine or similar device that has an overall capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition
• It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
• Shall not apply to the possession of any large capacity ammunition feeding device otherwise lawfully possessed before 2013.
• Shall not apply to qualified or retired law enforcement officers.

Proponent's Argument for voting Yes: Sen. BLUMENTHAL: This amendment would ban high-capacity magazines which are used to kill more people more quickly and, in fact, have been used in more than half the mass shootings since 1982. I ask my colleagues to listen to law enforcement, their police, prosecutors who are outgunned by criminals who use these high-capacity magazines. I ask that my colleagues also listen to the families of those killed by people who used a high-capacity magazine.

Opponent's Argument for voting No: Sen. GRASSLEY. I oppose the amendment. In 2004, which is the last time we had the large-capacity magazine ban, a Department of Justice study found no evidence banning such magazines has led to a reduction in gun violence. The study also concluded it is not clear how often the outcomes of the gun attack depend on the ability of offenders to fire more than 10 shots without reloading. Secondly, there is no evidence banning these magazines has reduced the deaths from gun crimes. In fact, when the previous ban was in effect, a higher percentage of gun crime victims were killed or wounded than before it was adopted. Additionally, tens of millions of these magazines have been lawfully owned in this country for decades. They are in common use, not unusually dangerous, and used by law-abiding citizens in self-defense, as in the case of law enforcement.

Voted YES on allowing firearms in checked baggage on Amtrak trains.

On page 37, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following: "Allowing Amtrak Passengers to Securely Transport Firearms on Passenger Trains.--None of amounts made available in the reserve fund authorized under this section may be used to provide financial assistance for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) unless Amtrak passengers are allowed to securely transport firearms in their checked baggage.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Sen. ROGER WICKER (R, MS). This amendment aims to ensure that gun owners and sportsmen are able to transport securely firearms aboard Amtrak trains in checked baggage, a practice that is done thousands of times a day at airports across the country. I emphasize that this amendment deals with checked, secured baggage only. It would return Amtrak to a pre-9/11 practice. It does not deal with carry-on baggage. Unlike the airline industry, Amtrak does not allow the transport of firearms in checked bags. This means that sportsmen who wish to use Amtrak trains for hunting trips cannot do so because they are not allowed to check safely a firearm.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Sen. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D, NJ): I object to this disruptive amendment offered by the Senator from Mississippi. He wants to enable the carrying of weapons, guns, in checked baggage. One doesn't have to be very much concerned about what we are doing when they look at the history of attacks on railroads in Spain and the UK and such places. This amendment has no place here interrupting the budgetary procedure. The pending amendment is not germane and, therefore, I raise a point of order that the amendment violates section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Voted YES on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

• Exempt lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime
• Exempt lawsuits against actions that result in death, physical injury or property damage due solely to a product defect
• Call for the dismissal of all qualified civil liability actions pending on the date of enactment by the court in which the action was brought
• Prohibit the manufacture, import, sale or delivery of armor piercing ammunition, and sets a minimum prison term of 15 years for violations
• Require all licensed importers, manufacturers and dealers who engage in the transfer of handguns to provide secure gun storage or safety devices

Voted YES on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence.

Voted NO on background checks at gun shows.

Voted YES on more penalties for gun & drug violations.

Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows.

Voted YES on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks.

Allow veterans to register unlicensed guns acquired abroad.

• Provides a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record any firearm acquired before October 31, 1968, by a veteran while a member of the Armed Forces stationed outside the continental United States.
• Grants such an individual limited immunity with respect to the acquisition, possession, transportation, or alteration of such firearm before or concurrent with such registration.
• Extends such immunity to a veteran who attempts to register a qualifying firearm outside of the amnesty period if the veteran surrenders the firearm within 30 days after being notified of potential criminal liability for continued possession.
• Transfers each firearm qualifying as a curio or relic which has been forfeited to the United States to the first qualified museum that requests it
• Publishes information identifying each such firearm which is available to be transferred to a museum.
• Makes a prohibition against transfer or possession of a machine-gun inapplicable to museums.

Oppose the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty.

Dear President Obama:

We write to express our concern and regret at your decision to sign the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty. For the following reasons, we cannot give our advice and consent to this treaty:

1. The treaty violates a 2009 red line laid down by your own administration: "the rule of consensus decision-making." In April 2013, after the treaty failed to achieve consensus, it was adopted by majority vote in the UN General Assembly.
2. The treaty allows amendments by a 3/4 majority vote. When amended, it will become a source of political and legal pressure on the US to comply in practice with amendments it was unwilling to accept.
3. The treaty includes only a weak, non-binding reference to the lawful ownership and use of firearms, and recognizes none of these activities, much less individual self-defense, as fundamental individual rights. It encourages governments to collect the identities of individual end users of imported firearms at the national level, which would constitute the core of a national gun registry
4. The State Department has acknowledged that the treaty is "ambiguous." By becoming party to the treaty, the US would therefore be accepting commitments that are inherently unclear.
5. The criteria at the heart of the treaty are vague and easily politicized. They will steadily subject the US to the influence of internationally-defined norms, a process that would impinge on our national sovereignty.
6. The treaty criteria as established could hinder the US in fulfilling its strategic, legal, and moral commitments to provide arms to key allies such as Taiwan and Israel.

Opposes restrictions on right to bear arms.

The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Further Restrictions on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms' The Christian Coalition notes, "You can help make sure that voters have the facts BEFORE they cast their votes. We have surveyed candidates in the most competitive congressional races on the issues that are important to conservatives."

Reciprocity across state lines for concealed carry.

Press release in support: Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) cosponsored legislation to allow law-abiding citizens with concealed carry privileges to take firearms across state lines. Hyde-Smith has added her support to the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (S.446), which would allow qualified individuals to carry a concealed handgun into another state in accordance with that state's laws. Concealed carry permits are not transferrable between states under current law.

"For law-abiding gun owners with concealed carry permits, this legislation would affirm their ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights in other states with right-to-carry laws," Hyde-Smith said. "This is sensible legislation that recognizes states' authority to issue firearms licenses and permits, while supporting the rights of gun owners."

Boston Globe Op-Ed (12/14/17) in opposition, by Mayor Marty Walsh: We're grateful for the common-sense laws that help us do our jobs. We will fight any national policy that threatens to send us backward. That includes a bill called the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. It would force each state to recognize the concealed-carry standards of every other state, even those with dramatically weaker standards for who can get their hands on a gun. Given that the gun lobby has blocked the creation of a national database, it would be extremely difficult for local police to determine whether those out-of-state permits were even legitimate. Law enforcement all over the country strongly opposes this legislation.

If the US Senate passes Concealed Carry Reciprocity, people from other states who have criminal histories, who would never pass a background check in Massachusetts, would be able to carry a loaded, concealed gun into our neighborhoods. We know this is a bad idea. Our police officers, our neighbors, and the responsible gun owners of Boston agree.

Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC.

• Nothing in any provision of law shall authorize the Mayor, or any governmental authority of the District of Columbia, to prohibit possessing firearms by a person who is allowed to possess firearms under federal law.
• Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms.
• Repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.
• Repeals the District's registration requirement for possession of firearms.
• Repeals the trigger lock law.
• Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle.
• Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm.
• Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District. Source: D.C. Personal Protection Act (H.R.1399/S.1001) 2007-S1001 on Mar 27, 2007

  Allow firearms in National Parks.

  McCain co-sponsored allowing firearms in National Parks

  Bars the promulgation or enforcement of any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm, including an assembled or functional firearm, in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System if:

  1. the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm; and
  2. the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of state in which the unit is located.
  Source: Protecting Americans from Violent Crime Act (S.2619&HR.5434) 2008-S2619 on Feb 8, 2008

  Click here for definitions & background information on Gun Control. Click here for VoteMatch responses by John McCain. Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by John McCain. Click here for MyOcracy.org quiz by John McCain. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of John McCain. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of John McCain.
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