Gun Control Activists Divided Over Democrat Senate Candidate

Democrat Graham Platner, who’s vying for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine next year, has expressed support for the Second Amendment in the past, but those comments have largely flown under the radar compared to the coverage of some of his other opinions and commentary he offered on the social media site Reddit… not to mention headlines like “”I am not a secret Nazi”: Maine Senate candidate responds to tattoo accusations.”

Platner’s been downplaying his past support for the Second Amendment since he announced his candidacy, and has taken steps to bolster his gun control bona fides by endorsing a “red flag” referendum on the ballot in Maine this year, but Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts still isn’t a fan. 

Democrats: Imagine this was a GOP candidate who calls people retards and cunts, says he needs a semiautomatic rifle to take out his enemies, believes women bear responsibility for sexual assault, and spreads racist tropes. Would you support him?

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— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts.bsky.social) October 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM

While it’s not exactly shocking that Watts would oppose Platner’s candidacy, what is interesting is that gun control activist David Hogg is a supporter of Platner’s. 

Hogg recently shared a post on X defending Platner’s comments. 

Reddit posts aside I think giving disillusioned men an example of a guy who took his online anger, changed, and turned his disconent into organized anger against billionaires, who are actually breaking our country, is important. 

Now, a repost on X alone doesn’t mean that Hogg is embracing Platner’s candidacy… but the fact that Hogg’s political action committee Leaders We Deserve has endorsed Platner is a pretty good sign that Hogg is on board with his campaign. 

In fact, Platner is one of just nine active candidates endorsed by Hogg’s PAC in the 2026 eelction cycle, and as of Wednesday morning the endorsement was still up on Leaders We Deserve’s website even after the latest revelation’s about Platner’s tattoo of a skull and crossbones that closely resembles the “Totenkopf” symbol used by the Nazi SS. 

So why hasn’t Hogg backed off his support for Platner? Why is he supporting him in the first place, given Platner’s previous comments like “[if anyone] expect[s] to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history,” and “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice”? 

Leaders We Deserve is all about electing younger candidates, and Platner is 41… decades younger than 77-year-old Gov. Janet Mills, who’s the front runner for the Democratic Senate nomination. Mills also has a track record of at least moderate support for the Second Amendment; she’s opposing the “red flag” referendum and vetoed a bill banning bump stocks, but approved expanding background checks on some private sales of firearms and allowing a bill establishing a 72-hour waiting period to become law without her signature. 

Platner’s campaign website is devoid of any mention of the Second Amendment or gun control, which gives Hogg some cover in endorsing a guy who once argued that you need “a good semi-automatic rifle” to fight fascism. Still, it’s interesting that Platner is already causing a divide in the gun control movement, and that Hogg is apparently willing to set aside his own desires to reduce the number of legally-owned firearms in the United States and back a candidate who, at least as of a few years ago, believed an “armed working class” was a requirement for “economic justice.”