This is really becoming a pattern with Caren Merrick – say something in public, say or do something completely different when (she thinkgs) nobody is watching. In this case, first check out Caren Merrick speaking a few weeks ago at a debate in Arlington, stating point blank in response to a question from Omar Samaha regarding background checks on all gun sales, “We should have background checks.” That’s pretty clear, right? It sure seems like it, but of course, this is the same person who promised three times to release her NRA questionnaire before the election, then refused to do so until 5 pm the night before the election (when almost nobody will have a chance to see it prior to voting).
Well, now we’ve got Merrick’s NRA questionnaire, and it’s obvious why she didn’t want to release it in an urban/suburban district where the vast majority of people favor reasonable gun safety measures, such as background checks, trigger locks, putting serial numbers on cartridge cases, etc. It turns out that Caren Merrick is on the opposite side of the vast majority of 31st Senate district residents on all those things. That’s how she earned her A- rating from the NRA, by answering their questions “correctly.”
But getting back to the lie: Caren Merrick told Omar Samaha that she supported background checks on private gun sales. Well, in this questionnaire, Merrick checked “no” to the question about background checks at gun shows for firearms transactions. It also turns out that Merrick supports eliminating Virginia’s “state instant check system.” So much for what she told Omar.
There’s lots of other stuff in Merrick’s questionnaire you’d almost certainly be interested in seeing before you vote tomorrow, so check it out. But just remember three things. First, it took tremendous pressure to get Caren Merrick to keep a promise that SHE made, three times in public no less, to release her NRA questionnaire prior to the election so everyone could look at it. Second, when she did finally release the survey, after much prodding, she did so just 13 hours before polls open, making it almost impossible for voters to know where she stands on these issues. Finally, Merrick outright lied to Omar Samaha about background checks for private gun sales.
Any further questions about Caren Merrick?
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