Tim Walz's NRA rating went from A to F. It's part of a shift from Democrats on guns

Tim Walz addressed something head-on at the Democratic National Convention last month, as he accepted the party's nomination for vice president — it was guns.

“Look, I know guns. I'm a veteran. I'm a hunter. I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress and I have the trophies to prove it," he said. "But I'm also a dad. I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe that our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.”

Walz used to be such a strong defender of gun rights that the NRA gave him an A rating at the start of his political career. Today, his grade is an F.

That reflects a larger shift in the Democratic Party and points to where gun policy might be headed if Democrats win the presidential election in November.

How Democrats once did (and did not) talk about guns

In the early 2000s, Democratic candidates lived in fear of talking about guns and would shut down any suggestion that they campaign on it, says Matt McTighe, a party consultant for hire at the time.

“Even the candidates themselves would say, ‘I’m totally good on the issue. I will support background checks. I’ll support all the policies. But we just can’t talk about it. It’s not a winning issue. There’s no constituency for it. Just don’t make me say anything about it.’”

Today, McTighe is with the nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety. He says if you want to see the change in the party over time, you just have to look at a forum his group sponsored in August of 2019, where the leading Democratic primary candidates met in Iowa specifically to talk about guns.

“And they all showed up on, like, four days’ notice and they were all trying to outdo one another on who could have the most robust gun safety policy,” he said.

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