Clinton, as FLOTUS, argues for longer prison sentences in 1994. Sanders, as Rep, votes "Yes"

[Recursion]

The bill in question is commonly known as the "Assault Weapons Ban".

Sanders actually stuck his neck out a lot, because Vermont is very 2nd-Amendment-friendly. I don't like the AWB (I think it made the 2000 election close enough that Rove could steal it). Sanders voted for the AWB, and its increased prison sentences.

In retrospect, all of us here agree that the mass incarceration of the past 20 years was a cure worse than the disease. That's why both Clinton and Sanders and O'Malley (can I say "both" for three?) are saying we need to reform incarceration and sentencing.

Honestly I have no idea for whom I'm going to vote, but incarceration is a subject I'm glad the party as a whole, Clinton, Sanders, and O'Malley, seems to have evolved on.

[Recursion]

1. Nothing? Nobody wants to defend this now? (nt)

[Wilms]

2. What is there to defend?

You are misleading with the subject line. You seem to want to get me to think Sanders voted for longer sentences for petty crime when all he did was go along with an assault weapons ban...is that right?

Your bias is obvious. And you are, of course, entitled to it. But you're not being straight.

[Recursion]

3. That bill included longer sentences for petty crime

Sanders voted for it. Clinton advocated for it as first lady. O'Malley enforced it as mayor and governor.

All three of them seem to have evolved their views since that time, which is a good thing.

[Wilms]

8. What petty crimes? Please be specific.

I scanned over the 300 some odd page bill. I didn't notice petty crimes. Violence against women is not petty. What did I miss?

[Recursion]

9. "Petty" was not my word, but yours. I just ran with it.

I wasn't sure why you went to "petty", but I just let you have that. If you don't find the offenses outlined in the 1994 crime bill "petty", I largely agree, so we don't need to argue about it. But those were your words.

[Wilms]

10. Oh. OK.

So he voted to throw people in jail for a long time if they beat up a woman.

And the issue with that is... ?

[Recursion]

11. There's a very popular OP right now attacking Clinton for supporting that same bill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6750883

There we go.

This is the bill she was promoting in that quote.

Sanders voted for it.

Clinton advocated for it.

O'Malley enforced it.

All three of them seem to have changed their minds about it since then.

[Wilms]

13. Then drop it.

You're getting noticed.

Unless you have a video of Bernie advocating along with FLOTUS...whyever FLOTUS needed to weigh-in.

[treestar]

4. The 90s seem to have been an era when

America was nuts about crime. Totally afraid of it and sure it was everywhere. The many laws passed to make things more difficult on criminals show that.

The economy was good enough that everyone had the time to worry about this. And it was before terrorism became a big thing, in spite of OKC and the WTC attacks.

They were both voting as their constituents wanted.

[Recursion]

5. True. The murder rate was like 4 times what it is now

Politicians gotta politicize

[Raine1967]

12. This is a great response.

It is very good, and very important that all three candidates seem to have changed their minds about crime. I don;t know if anyone really was a aware of how big and terrible the prison industrial complex would become.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Taking issues from one era and placing them in another is always fraught with problems.

As to law and order the goal should be to find a sweet spot where good people are protected, bad people are punished according to the effect their crimes have on others, and the rights of innocent folks don't get trampled in the process.

[Recursion]

7. I agree. I'm glad that Clinton, Sanders, and O'Malley all seem to have "evolved" on this

and now share our position, compared to their positions in the 1990s.