Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)

In the days after the Sandy Hook shootings, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) stood apart from his party by embracing some sort of tougher background checks for gun purchases and limits on high-capacity gun magazines.

But as Gingrey gears up for a possible Senate run, it appears that he is pandering to special interest groups like the National Rifle Association by backing off of these previous statements. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gingrey claims his initial response was solely emotional and he does not stand by his words:

Gingrey said he was ai???thinking out loudai??? at the time, and was wrapped in thoughts about his own grandchildren and the 20 first-graders in Connecticut slain only weeks before, by a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15 with 30-round magazines.

ai???I have come to the conclusion that [limiting clip capacity] clearly would be a mistake ai??i?? that it would not solve the problem,ai??? he said. […] Gingrey endorsed the NRA insistence on tighter reporting by state and local governments on those judged mentally unstable, but said he would oppose mandatory background checks on private sales of firearms ai??i?? the so-called ai???gun showai??? exception.

As Gingrey says, he was thinking about his own grandchildren at the time he endorsed these gun reforms. Now he appears to be thinking about the NRA’s campaign dollars.

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