Dem candidate Kirsten Gillibrand makes extreme claims in attempt to demonize gun manufacturers

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) attacked gun manufacturers during a campaign event Monday, saying that opposition to universal background checks is rooted in a desire to sell weapons to dangerous people.

Gillibrand ranted about the National Rifle Association before turning her wrath to gun manufacturers, who she says are standing in the way of common sense reform "that can save lives."

"Because gun manufacturers only care about gun sales, they oppose the common sense reform that can save lives. They want to oppose universal background checks because they want to sell an assault rifle to a teenager in a Walmart or to someone on the terror watch list or to someone who's gravely mentally ill with a violent background or to someone with a criminal conviction for a violent crime. They want to sell those weapons, that is why they oppose universal background checks."

Notably, Gillibrand hasn't always taken such an anti-Second Amendment stance on guns. According to the Observer, Gillibrand had an A rating from the NRA from 2007 to 2009 as a congresswoman.

Gillibrand has since forsaken her previous stances and said she is embarrassed by them.

"I was wrong," Gillibrand said last year. "What it's about is the power of the NRA and the greed of that industry. Let's be clear. It is not about hunters' rights, it's about money."

Gillibrand, who has been accused of being a political opportunist who shifts her views based on what will help her win, has similar regrets about her previously more conservative immigration views.

"I just didn't take the time to understand why these issues mattered because it wasn't right in front of me," Gillibrand said. "And that was my fault. It was something I'm embarrassed about and I'm ashamed of."