NRA intimidates US Congress members: Ex-Senator
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mike Gravel, a former US Democratic senator, in San Francisco, about the recent developments regarding a mass shooting and gun control in the US.
What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Mr. Gravel – or Senator Gravel I should say – why are US lawmakers against any kind of reform in gun control?
Gravel: Well, they’re indebted to the National Rifle Association, which puts up the money and surgically will oppose any person who runs for office who runs afoul of their views unless he comes from a big city, like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles or San Francisco; but the rest of the members of Congress from the rural areas are just intimidated by the National Rifle Association.
But also what underscores all of this is that the Americans are a violent people. We don’t choose to acknowledge that what we truly are… our history has been violent. And if there is any group that has suffered recently under the violence of American foreign policy, it’s got to be the people of Iran.
And so, all I can say is I’m embarrassed by the conduct of the Congress and the inactivity of the leadership of the United States to solve this problem of unusual violence with guns.
Press TV: And Senator, you mentioned the influence of the gun lobby. How influential is the gun lobby in the US? And did you have any personal account or experience in how the NRA lobbies American lawmakers?
Gravel: Oh, very much. Here I came from Alaska; and a person in Alaska could not get elected if he was opposed by the NRA. Now, I…, and so I was suspect that I would be for the control of guns.
But if you take other states like… I know one fellow Senator who opposed the NRA and he was in Maryland and he lost the election because of the NRA’s effort campaigning against him.
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