U.S. Presidential Election 2020 - Nov. 2019 Launch
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New Resource Tracks Candidate Positions on Arms Trade Issues
Washington, DC (November 5, 2019) – Today the Forum on the Arms Trade announced the launch of its U.S. Presidential Election 2020 candidate tracker, an online resource detailing public actions and positions on key arms trade issues taken by 17 Democratic and four Republican candidates for president. The tracker finds that many candidates have yet to take a clear position on crucial security and human rights issues such as arming the Saudi-led coalition, the international Arms Trade Treaty, and where oversight should lie for the export of semi-automatic weapons and their ammunition.
"It is critical that those vying for the highest office in the land make clear their positions on how they see the United States' role in the provision of the world's deadliest exports," said Jeff Abramson, senior fellow at the Arms Control Association. "While many candidates have yet to publicly stake positions across the range of arms trade issues, a stark divide is emerging between President Trump and leading Democratic candidates on how to responsibly engage with Saudi Arabia, promote international agreements such as the Arms Trade Treaty, and export assault weapons," he added.
Key findings to date include:
Candidate positions are assessed based on available speeches, past votes, debates, media responses, and other sources. Where an explicit statement has been made, that is indicated. "Unknown" is used when no or insufficient information has been found to assess explicit positions, but a webpage for each candidate contains the relevant quotes and sources that can be used to independently assess likely positions. The resource will be updated regularly and additional issues assessed as the presidential campaign continues.
The Forum will reach out shortly to campaigns to ask for clarifications, and also welcomes assistance from the public in its collection of resources. Please send information to [email protected] with "2020 Presidential Tracker" in the subject line.
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The Forum on the Arms Trade is a global network of more than 80 civil society experts and a point of contact for strengthening public efforts to address the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use. The Forum does not itself take positions nor endorse candidates for public office. Assessments in the tracker are not necessarily endorsed by Forum-listed experts.
Washington, DC (November 5, 2019) – Today the Forum on the Arms Trade announced the launch of its U.S. Presidential Election 2020 candidate tracker, an online resource detailing public actions and positions on key arms trade issues taken by 17 Democratic and four Republican candidates for president. The tracker finds that many candidates have yet to take a clear position on crucial security and human rights issues such as arming the Saudi-led coalition, the international Arms Trade Treaty, and where oversight should lie for the export of semi-automatic weapons and their ammunition.
"It is critical that those vying for the highest office in the land make clear their positions on how they see the United States' role in the provision of the world's deadliest exports," said Jeff Abramson, senior fellow at the Arms Control Association. "While many candidates have yet to publicly stake positions across the range of arms trade issues, a stark divide is emerging between President Trump and leading Democratic candidates on how to responsibly engage with Saudi Arabia, promote international agreements such as the Arms Trade Treaty, and export assault weapons," he added.
Key findings to date include:
- Restricting Arms Transfers to Saudi Coalition (link): 11 Democratic candidates explicitly support restrictions on arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen (Bennet, Booker, Buttigieg, Delaney, Gabbard, Harris, Klobuchar, Sanders, Warren, Williamson, Yang). One Republican candidate is explictly opposed to restrictions (Trump). For six Democratic candidates (Biden, Bullock, Castro, Messam, Sestak, Steyer) and three Republican candidates (Sanford, Walsh, Weld), the tracker does not find enough information to identify an explicit position, thereby listing those candidates as "unknown."
- Arms Trade Treaty (link): three Democratic candidates explicitly support the Arms Trade Treaty (Delaney, Sanders, Steyer). One Republican candidate is explictly opposed to the treaty (Trump). For the remaining 17 candidates, the tracker does not find enough information to identify an explicit position taken during this election cycle. However, a number of candidates have voted on earlier Senate resolutions related to the treaty (Bennet, Booker, Klobuchar, Walsh, Warren) and one (Biden) was Vice President of a supportive administration.
- Firearms Export Oversight (link): two Democratic candidates explicitly support the retention of semi-automatic weapons, select other weapons, and their ammunition on the State Department-led US Munitions List (Biden, Warren). One Republican candidate is explictly opposed to retaining State Department oversight (Trump). For the remaining 18 candidates, the tracker does not find enough information to identify an explicit position. The remaining Democratic candidates, however, have indicated support for an assault weapons ban without taking identified positions on broader export oversight rules.
Candidate positions are assessed based on available speeches, past votes, debates, media responses, and other sources. Where an explicit statement has been made, that is indicated. "Unknown" is used when no or insufficient information has been found to assess explicit positions, but a webpage for each candidate contains the relevant quotes and sources that can be used to independently assess likely positions. The resource will be updated regularly and additional issues assessed as the presidential campaign continues.
The Forum will reach out shortly to campaigns to ask for clarifications, and also welcomes assistance from the public in its collection of resources. Please send information to [email protected] with "2020 Presidential Tracker" in the subject line.
---
The Forum on the Arms Trade is a global network of more than 80 civil society experts and a point of contact for strengthening public efforts to address the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use. The Forum does not itself take positions nor endorse candidates for public office. Assessments in the tracker are not necessarily endorsed by Forum-listed experts.