What are some examples of DEMS casting off the gun control albatross? Let's make a list!

[johnbraun]

It has been said that Gore and Kerry lost the presidency because of a public perception of them as gun control proponents, but we're not going to talk about that.

Bill Clinton himself said in 2004:
"The fight for the assault weapons ban cost 20 members their seats in Congress"

There is no indication that Bill Clinton said this and didn't believe it. He thinks that gun control causes us Dems to lose elections. I happen to agree.

What are some examples of elected Dems or candidates casting off this noxious, archaic part of the platform, which Clinton himself admitted causes us to lose?

(note: these are Dems with stated pro-gun actions, platforms, or legislation - not just pretending the issue doesn't exist like Obama or Clinton)

This isn't just about posting the GOA ratings for each candidate, you have to list something they did.

Gov. Bill Richardson - signed NM's concealed carry legislation and has a concealed pistol permit
Sen. John Unger, WV Assembly - authored strong Castle Doctrine law in WV

[HardWorkingDem]

1. About the only thing...

Throwing down examples of what politicians have or have not done doesn't really address the real problem: stopping gun violence.

It's been awhile, but I do know for the longest time about the only gun law that could be shown to have a measurable impact was one instituted by Minnesota years ago and that law gave criminals who carried and used guns mandatory prison time.

Criminals who carry and use firearms should be hit with harsh CRIMINAL sentences that do deter them and for the issue of a prosecutor not being able to build a case to sustain a criminal charge, communities and politicians should explore the use of CIVIL penalties for the cases where the higher standard of proof can't be met.

So many gun laws are merely written to either cater to the NRA crowd or the anti-gun crowd and not the truly crime reduction goal.

[johnbraun]

3. Yep, that's the only gun law that's really been shown to work.

[bossy22]

4. good point

i agree....there needs to be harsh penalties for criminals who carry and/or use a gun.

[krispos42]

7. The 3-strikes-and-your-out laws seemed to help, too

Repeat offenders, many of which presumebly used guns in violent crimes but didn't get caught, were imprisoned and thus off of the streets.

[Taverner]

2. Howard Dean got an A rating from NRA, and still does

Much to their chagrin...

[benEzra]

8. How is it to their chagrin if they're the ones who gave him an A?

BTW, Dean is a good example of the OP, methinks. He was very pro-gun-owner as governor, unfortunately fell for the "assault weapon" bait-and-switch in '04, but then returned to a pro-choice position on guns with his 50 State Strategy in '06 (which helped turned Congress blue).

[Taverner]

11. The NRA isn't really about gun rights

They are more in bed with the GOP then they are the honest gun owners. So naturally, they wouldn't want to (but had to by their own rules) give Gov Dean an A.

[benEzra]

12. The NRA endorsed my Dem governor (Mike Easley) in '04...

and most of my Dem state government. They do play partisan games at the national level, but at the state level they seem to be fairly evenhanded, at least around here. Easley won here 55%/45%, BTW, on the same day the Kerry/Edwards ticket lost 45%/55% (and this is Edwards' home state).

The NRA could vanish tomorrow and it wouldn't change the issue. The problem the gun-control lobby has isn't the NRA, it's the ~80 million Americans who own guns--largely nonhunting guns that the prohibitionists want to ban--who vote at above-average rates, and often weigh the gun issue rather heavily in selecting a candidate.



----------------------
Dems and the Gun Issue - Now What? (written in '04, largely vindicated in '06, IMO)

The Conservative Roots of U.S. Gun Control

Thoughts on Gun Ownership

[Taverner]

13. Yes but the NRA turns what should be an enlightened debate into a mess

I wish there were a group that was for guns what the ACLU is for free speech.

[benEzra]

15. I agree 100%.

The NRA still has one foot in a 1970's paradigm in which shrillness is seen as an effective mode of communication, and where guns are supposedly owned by "sportsmen" who own lots of camouflage clothing and drive pickup trucks. When in fact shrillness is a turnoff in the Internet era, and 4 out of 5 gun owners are nonhunters and a third are women.

Like you, I wish there was an alternative to the NRA that wasn't a front for the gun-control lobby (AGS, AHSA, ad nauseaum). Maybe we all should start one...or maybe the NRA can be educated. I'm not sure on the latter, but I am an optimist.

[Kolesar]

5. Not my friend the judge who got shot in the chest twice

We used to print his yard signs in our garage and I rode all over town placing them where people asked for them.

The police fucked the investigation, so we never found out who tried to kill him although we think we know.

"You ain't been there" --The Clash

[johnbraun]

6. Condolences for your loss.

nt

[Kolesar]

10. Thanks, but he survived and got reelected in a landslide

Then he got kind of ornery and lost the next one. You would have loved this guy, honest and strident. The local runt mafia hated him.

[riverwalker]

9. Montana Governer

Brian Schwietzer
Edited: You want examples I don't what he did-sorry. I just know my NRA family members like him

[benEzra]

14. He supports lawful and responsible gun ownership, and NOT just for hunters.

He opposes the "assault weapon" fraud and supports CHL licensure, among other things.

Only 1 in 5 U.S. gun owners hunts. Some party strategists can't get that through their heads, though.


----------------------
Dems and the Gun Issue - Now What? (written in '04, largely vindicated in '06, IMO)

The Conservative Roots of U.S. Gun Control

Thoughts on Gun Ownership

[beevul]

16. Tester, Webb, Dingle. N/T

[johnbraun]

17. What did they do?