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Boston Bombing First Responder Condemns Sanders’ Comments On Felon Voting Rights

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William Davis Contributor
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A first responder from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing slammed Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan to allow felons, such as the terrorist behind the bombing, to vote in U.S. elections.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev killed three people and injured hundreds of others on April 15 and is currently on death row, awaiting his execution. (RELATED: 70 Percent Support Death Penalty For Boston Bomber)

Ed Kelly, a first responder whose wife ran in the marathon that day, spoke out against Sanders’ proposal in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning, calling it a “ridiculous” idea.

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“Why would we ever let a murderer, who murdered children — like the Boston Marathon bomber — have a voice in our democracy?” Kelly asked.

Sanders stunned many during a CNN town hall on Monday night when the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate came out for restoring voting rights to incarcerated felons, including the Boston bomber. (RELATED: New Hampshire Poll Shows Bernie Sanders With Double-Digit Lead)

“I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy, yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away … you’re running down a slippery slope,” Sanders said. “I believe that people commit crimes, they pay the price, but when they get out of jail they certainly should have the right to vote. But I do believe that even if they are in jail paying their price to society, that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.”

The same question was posed to other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates that were holding town halls with CNN, including California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Harris said that she wants to have a “conversation” about the issue, while Buttigieg said he was against allowing the bomber to vote.

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