‘INCREDIBLY DIVISIVE’

GOP Congressman Who Backed Gun Control Drops Re-Election Bid

Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) faced severe backlash from his party for supporting a ban on assault weapons and raising the age for gun ownership.

A New York congressman who backed some gun control measures has dropped his bid for re-election after being slammed by Donald Trump Jr. and other Republicans. “Despite this backlash, I truly believe I could win this election, but it would be an incredibly divisive election,” Jacobs wrote on Friday. “The last thing we need is an incredibly negative, half-truth filled media attack funded by millions of dollars of special interest money coming into our community around this issue of guns and violence and gun control.” Jacobs’ big political crime was suggesting that a ban on assault rifles and raising the age of gun ownership to 21 might be sensible in the wake of recent mass shootings that have slaughtered elementary school students and supermarket shoppers.