There are two basic poses that Arkansas politicians take for ads and mailers. One is a picture of the candidate alongside smiling family, preferably near a farm, but a drably painted living room will do. The other is the candidate with a gun. Firing a gun, cradling a gun, gun in the pocket, whatever. Big guns, small guns. From a duck blind or a pickup truck. I haven’t yet seen a politicians combine the genres and pose with their families and all their guns, but I’m sure that’s coming.

So I was struck by a truly unusual sight in Arkansas politics: A mailer that instead promotes “common sense gun safety laws.” Andrew Collins, running for the state House seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Clarke Tucker, states in the mailer, “As your next State Representative, I will stand up and fight for common-sense gun safety legislation to reduce crime and make our community a safer place to live.” Instead of the NRA, he notes accolades he’s received from the gun control group Moms Demand Action.

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The policy meat:

Under current Arkansas law, some individuals convicted of criminal domestic abuse are allowed to own a gun. This is a dangerous loophole that must be fixed immediately. We must give better protection to the victims of domestic abuse. As State Representative, I’ll fight to keep guns out of the hands of those convicted of domestic abuse.

As your State Representative, I’ll work to implement common-sense gun safety legislation such as universal background checks, a ban on bump stocks, and preventing those convicted of domestic abuse from owning a rearm. We can also save lives by enacting a red flag law to address mental health issues before a shooting occurs.

You can see the full mailer here. Moms Demand Action approves.

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