Former GOP senator endorses Clinton after Orlando shooting

A former Republican senator is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president after the mass shooting in Orlando, citing her support for gun control.

Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) called for universal background checks on all gun sales and an assault weapons ban Monday in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

“I can’t believe I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I am,” said Pressler, who spoke with The Hill on Monday after endorsing Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in a statement issued over the weekend.
“This morning, I woke up and told my wife, ‘Did I really do that?’ ” he said. "But I did.

“If someone had told me 10 years ago I would do this, I wouldn’t have believed them."

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BrewerBob said:

People change.

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He said he feels disenfranchised by Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and modern-day congressional Republicans who have opposed efforts to expand background checks for gun sales.

“We need to go the route of more gun control as a result of Orlando and all the other shootings that have occurred,” Pressler said. “But it’s almost as though Republicans are saying gun control shouldn’t be part of the conversation at all."

But gun control isn’t the only reason why Pressler is ready to join “Republicans for Clinton” — he’s also concerned about Trump’s rhetoric on Muslims.

“This election is starting to sound like the German elections in [the late 1920s],” Pressler said. “This is a very dangerous national conversation we’re slipping into.”

Pressler, a Mormon Sunday school teacher, said he understands all too well the dangers of singling out a particular religious group.

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Unitedwestand13 said:

This is interesting.



Thoughts?

Former GOP senator endorses Clinton after Orlando shooting | TheHill

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