FACT CHECK: Did Jim Brochin get an A or an F from the NRA?

Brochin mailer

Brochin mailer

Mailer in support of Almond

Mailer in support of Almond

Many Baltimore County residents received a mailer recently questioning whether state Sen. Jim Brochin is a “real Democrat” because of his record on gun control — and it claims he got an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.

“Trust” me, I am FOR gun control and I am a “real” democrat, says the text mocking Brochin, followed by the question, Really???

The mailer was paid for by the Baltimore County Victory Slate, which was created by former County Executive Jim Smith, and encourages voters to support Councilwoman Vicki Almond in the Democratic primary for county executive.

Within a day, another mailer was delivered, this one from Brochin’s campaign, touting his record on gun control.

When Jim Brochin voted for gun control, people said it wasn’t politically smart. HE DID IT ANYWAY — BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT.

So what’s the real story?

Brochin did receive an “A” rating from the NRA in 2010 but then got an “F” in 2014 after he voted in favor of the Maryland Firearm Safety Act of 2013 that banned assault weapons and enacted other reforms. He says his lifetime rating from the NRA is a “D.” (The NRA has removed past scorecards from its website; votesmart.org has some previous ratings on its site.) He has called the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012 “a game changer.”

Brochin accepted $2,250 from the NRA between 2006 and 2010, but has taken no money from them since.

His 2013 vote for gun-control was seen as politically risky because Brochin’s district had just been redrawn and was suddenly more conservative.

Yet a leading gun-control advocate from that time is now criticizing Brochin for the votes he took prior to eventually supporting the bill — particularly Brochin’s support of a Republican filibuster against the bill, which nearly caused the legislation’s demise.

“Jim Brochin did what the NRA wanted by voting against cloture,” said Vincent DeMarco, the former president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. “He’s got to come clean.”

Brochin said he voted in favor of the filibuster because he had concerns about aspects of the legislation, especially a fingerprint requirement and high fees for gun registration, which were eventually lowered.

“I felt like at the end of the day some things were not fair in that legislation,” Brochin said. But he ended up voting for it, he said, because “the most compelling point of the bill was the assault-weapons ban, and that if you were voluntarily or involuntarily committed to a mental institution, your weapons would be taken from you.”

Brochin said he also worked to add language saying guns would be taken not only from people who were a danger to others but also those who were a danger to themselves.

Jen Pauliukonis, the current president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said that in the most recent General Assembly session Brochin supported the group’s four pieces of legislation. She added that the group is not endorsing any candidate. Attorney General Brian Frosh — who in 2013 was the senator shepherding the gun-control bill through the General Assembly — has endorsed Brochin.

Mandee Heinl, a spokeswoman for Almond, said the mailer that focuses on Brochin’s earlier votes instead of his more-current record was fair.

“He may be trying to run from his record now — who wouldn’t. But these are simply facts,” she said. “He took money from the NRA. He received an A rating from the NRA more than once because he voted with the NRA.”

Almond, who has served nearly eight years on the county council, does not have a record on gun votes.

John Olszewski Jr., a former state delegate who is competing against Almond and Brochin in the Democratic primary for county executive, also came under fire in recent months for his past vote against the 2013 gun-control bill and his 2009 vote in favor of letting domestic abusers keep their guns. (Brochin voted to take guns away from abusers.)

“In light of the things I’ve seen since some of the votes I’ve taken, particularly as it relates to firearms … I can look back and say, ‘I may have gotten that one wrong,’” Olszewski said on WYPR in April when asked about his gun votes.

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-Kris Henry,
The Towson Flyer