Griffin Says Group Mistaken On Co-sponsoring Background Checks Bill

An e-mail went out from a pro-gun control group called Americans For Responsible Solutions thanking Congressman Tim Griffin for co-sponsoring a new House gun control bill.  The problem is that the Congressman tells me he is not a co-sponsor.

The group, founded by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, is pushing for a House bill that expands background checks for gun purchases similar to the bill which failed in the Senate.  From their email…

First, Senator Manchin has vowed to bring his bill back up, and several of his colleagues who voted NO are showing signs that switching their votes might be possible.

But a bill doesn’t get to President Obama’s desk until it passes the House of Representatives, and now there’s a vehicle for that to happen.

Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) have introduced a bipartisan bill that is IDENTICAL to the Manchin-Toomey Senate legislation.

The bill has more than 150 co-sponsors, and your representative is one of them.

Please send Representative Tim Griffin a note of thanks for co-sponsoring the bipartisan King-Thompson legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases.

According to Congressman Griffin, the group has its facts wrong.

“It is a mistake. I am not a cosponsor of that bill. Never have been and never would,” said Griffin in an e-mail Thursday evening. “There are 155 cosponsors to HR 1565. I am not one of them. I have no idea why they did that.”

The issue was escalated on Thursday as one of the recipients on the email list of the pro-gun control group was Democratic Party of Arkansas spokesperson Candace Martin who took to twitter after reading it.

Griffin quickly corrected Martin that she was mistaken, but that did not stop her from stirring the pot.  Democrats are likely trying to deflect some attention away from Sen. Pryor who appears to be waffling on his vote in the Senate.