Katrina vanden Heuvel: Assault Weapons Ban Should Not Be a Partisan Issue

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Assault Weapons Ban Should Not Be a Partisan Issue

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Assault Weapons Ban Should Not Be a Partisan Issue

Cracking down on high-powered guns is not a progressive issue but rather a “sanity issue” that Obama should take on now.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

When Barack Obama publicly addresses Joe Biden’s gun control proposals this week, he should support a ban on assault weapons, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel said on Current TV’s War Room. Many mayors and law enforcement officials are pulling for a gun safety package, including such a ban.

“This is not a progressive issue, this is a sanity issue,” vanden Heuvel told host Jennifer Granholm.

Responsible gun owners could also be drawn on for support, vanden Heuvel said. Although the NRA leadership opposes background checks for gun buyers, many of its members agree with the idea. 

Alec Luhn

The NRA’s greatest PR coup in recent years was the Fast and Furious scandal, which resulted in US guns fueling drug violence in Mexico, Katrina vanden Heuvel reminds us in her latest blog post.

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x