2A/GUNS/MENTAL HEALTH/POLITICAL FIGURES: “In the wake of this month’s Florida school shooting, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) renewed his calls for a better background-check system to keep firearms away from the mentally ill, but said nothing of his two votes opposing restrictions on gun purchases by some people deemed unfit by the federal government.
The Miami Republican said that his two votes — concerning some veterans and Social Security recipients — sought to protect constitutional rights, and he pointed to a slew of gun-control legislation he has either co-sponsored, drafted or talked up, including an assault weapons ban, which has gained traction after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Curbelo’s shifting and nuanced positions on guns has drawn the same criticism from completely opposite quarters: the National Rifle Association and his top Democratic opponent, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Both describe Curbelo as an opportunist, with Mucarsel-Powell saying he votes like a right-wing Republican in Washington while campaigning like a moderate in Florida’s 26th Congressional District, a swing seat. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won it by 16.3 percentage points — her biggest margin in the nation in a seat held by a Republican running for reelection.”
-Marc Caputo, “Curbelo on defense over gun-control double-talk, ” Politico, Feb. 28, 2018 05:03am