How Bernie Sanders's NRA grade stacks up against the other Democratic candidates'

The National Rifle Association is the main arm of the gun rights lobby in America. So for Democrats who support stricter gun laws, a bad grade from the NRA is a badge of honor. But the Democrats at Tuesday night's debate actually have a mixed record when it comes to guns — and their varied grades show as much.

Here are the candidates' most recent NRA grades, based on the last election they ran in:

• Hillary Clinton: F
• Bernie Sanders: D-minus
• Martin O'Malley: F
• Lincoln Chafee: F
• Jim Webb: A

What's interesting in these rankings is that most of the Democrats on stage are actually more liberal on guns, based on the NRA's scores, than the self-described "democratic socialist" onstage. As I previously explained, that reflects Sanders's roots in a largely rural state, which has a strong gun culture. So when guns come up, Sanders sounds less like the idealist he's loved as and more like the pragmatist his state's electorate pushes him to be.

Watch: America's biggest gun problem is rarely discussed

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