Christie: NRA wants to give me better grade
The New Jersey governor said his C rating from the NRA is due to gun laws passed before his tenure.
PELLA – Chris Christie said Friday the National Rifle Association wants to upgrade his C rating on gun rights but doesn't want to make such a change amid a presidential contest.
“I’ve had lots of discussions with the NRA, they informed me, they say ‘You know we really need to re-look at your grade and change it,’ Christie said during a town hall at Central Collage. “Now they’re involved in politics and politics of ‘do we really want to change your grade in the middle of a presidential race?’”
The NRA gave Christie a C rating in 2013 when he was running for re-election. It was the last time the gun-rights organization evaluated him.
The New Jersey governor and Republican presidential contender said he thinks the NRA gave him the middling grade based on gun laws passed in the state before his tenure.
“I haven’t gotten many Cs in my life, so I’m not happy about it," he said. "But this one? It's a C for my state. I don't think a C for me."
On the campaign trail, Christie regularly touts his gun record. He boasted Friday about vetoing bills in New Jersey to ban 50-caliber guns, limit ammunition magazine sizes and create a statewide ID system for gun-owners. He has also pardoned six people arrested in New Jersey for driving through the state with a gun legally registered in another state.
“There are some states where you can play offense,” Christie said. “There are some states, where it is good to have someone who can play defense and I’ve been playing defense to try to protect the Second Amendment and as president I would be able to play offense.”
But guns have also been a tricky issue for Christie in Iowa. He was heckled by a gun rights activist at a town hall this summer in Ankeny, sparking a fiery, headline-making response from Christie.
In 2013, Christie signed a package of 10 gun laws that included tougher penalties for unlawful possession of guns and a measure to prohibit people on the federal terrorist watch list from owning guns.
NRA spokesperson Jennifer Baker would not confirm whether Christie had talked to NRA officials about upgrading his rating.
“While no endorsement decision has been made in the 2016 presidential race, we will have much more to say in the near future,” she said in a prepared statement.
Asked in an email who at the NRA told Christie he should get a better grade, a spokesperson for Christie did not directly answer the question.
Christie was asked about gun rights several times during a full day of campaigning Friday. He held four town halls and drew his biggest Iowa crowd yet in Davenport, speaking to about 400 people in St. Ambrose University ballroom.
AT THE EVENTS
SETTINGS: A conference room at Central College in Pella, Appanoose Rapids Brewery in Ottumwa, Uptown Ivy's Bake Shoppe in Burlington, a ballroom St. Ambrose University in Davenport.
CROWD: About 100 people in Pella, about 75 people in Ottumwa, about 100 people in Burlington and about 400 people in Davenport -- Christie's biggest crowd yet in Iowa.
REACTION: The crowds mostly listened quietly, laughing at a few jokes and giving the loudest applause when Christie bashed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
WHAT'S NEXT: Christie has town halls scheduled Saturday in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Clear Lake.