WP: 1988 would support a ban on semiautomatic rifles, the type now commonly called “assault weapons.

[Omaha Steve]

Thank you WP.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/01/21/sanderss-suggestion-he-lost-88-race-because-he-opposed-assault-weapons-fact-checker-biography/

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee January 21 at 3:00 AM

Snip: Smith and Poirier signed the NRA pledge to not support “additional restrictive firearms legislation.” Sanders did the opposite, telling Vermont sportsmen’s clubs he would support a ban on semiautomatic rifles, the type now commonly called “assault weapons.”

The NRA endorsed Smith in 1988. But Smith changed his mind in Congress and supported a ban on certain semiautomatic rifles. It angered the NRA, which actively campaigned for Sanders in 1990 to oust Smith. In the NRA’s view, Sanders at least was consistent in his opposition to semiautomatic rifles.

“Senator Sanders has always explained that he made his position clear in 1988 and it is why he was not endorsed by the NRA,” said Warren Gunnels, Sanders campaign policy director.

In a June 1990 radio debate hosted by the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Sanders was asked again whether he would support additional restrictive firearms legislation. Sanders stuck by his answer from 1988:

OS