Democratic Senate hopeful Jason Kander is fighting back against criticism of his loyalty to the Second Amendment with a new ad depicting him assembling a rifle blindfolded.
Wearing a black sleeping mask, the Missouri secretary of state notes his service as an Army captain and pushes back on the barbs from Republicans on behalf of his opponent, Sen. Roy Blunt.
{mosads}”Sen. Blunt has been attacking me on guns. Well, in the Army, I learned how to use and respect my rifle. In Afghanistan, I volunteered to be an extra gun in a convoy of unarmored SUVs,” Kander says.
“And in the State Legislature, I supported Second Amendment rights. I also believe in background checks, so the terrorists can’t get their hands on one of these,” he adds, holding the just-assembled rifle.
The Democrat closes with a flourish on the generic campaign ad tagline: “I approve this message, because I would like to see Sen. Blunt do this,” he says, displaying the rifle and removing his blindfold.
The National Rifle Association cast Kander as someone who would vote against Second Amendment rights in an ad last week that depicted a home invasion.
The ad won praise from Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) after she was shot at a constituent event in 2011.
“This powerful ad is yet another sign that 2016 is going to be the year of gun violence prevention, and the year that the vocal majority of Americans who support responsible laws like background checks stood up and spoke out,” said Peter Ambler, the group’s executive director.
He lauded Kander for standing up to the “Washington gun lobby” while protecting “the rights of responsible gun owners.”
Kander currently trails Blunt by 5 percentage points in the RealClearPolitcs average of recent polls.
– Updated at 12:31 p.m.