Presidential candidates on gun control

Democrats: Joe Biden: Voted against preventing gun manufacturers from being sued. Earned an F from the NRA.

Hillary Clinton: Made gun control a key issue of her 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate, backing proposals to require the licensing and registering of all new handguns purchased in the United States.

Chris Dodd: Voted for requiring background checks at gun shows. Said U.S. needs to look beyond guns to ``issues of mental health, what's on our television and video things.''

John Edwards: Backed Democratic gun control measures when he was in the Senate, but said after the Virginia Tech shootings that he 'believes that the Second Amendment protects gun ownership and that we must keep guns out of criminals' hands.''

Mike Gravel: Raised his hand during recent debate when asked if he had ever had a gun in his home.

Dennis Kucinich: Rated an ''F'' with the NRA. Supports requiring background checks, licensing and fingerprinting.

Barack Obama: Said in a radio interview after the Virginia Tech shootings that he supported making it tougher for the mentally ill to own guns, but added, ``I'm respectful of people who want to hunt or sportsmen, somebody who might want to have a gun in the house to protect their home.''

Bill Richardson: Has said that gun ownership in the West is ''critically important'' though he supports background checks to detect criminal activity.

Sam Brownback: Voted against background checks at gun shows. Voted in favor of requiring gun makers and dealers to sell handguns with safety locks.

Jim Gilmore: As governor of Virginia, touted a program called ''Project Exile,'' which calls for mandatory minimum five-year sentences for gun-wielding felons.

Rudy Giuliani: Lobbied for a federal ban on assault weapons. Criticized southern states as having lax restrictions on gun sales.

Mike Huckabee: Said in a radio interview that a student or teacher carrying a concealed weapon might have reduced the death toll from the Virginia Tech shooting spree. A longtime hunter, Huckabee has consistently touted his support for concealed-weapon permits and his own license to carry.

Duncan Hunter: The NRA endorsed him last year and gave his lifetime voting record an ''A.'' Voted to protect gun makers from civil lawsuits.

John McCain: Voted against background checks at gun shows and a ban on assault weapons. Voted in favor of requiring gun makers and dealers to sell handguns with safety locks.

Ron Paul: Received high ratings and tens of thousands of dollars from pro-gun groups. Voted against background checks at gun shows.

Mitt Romney: When he ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002, said he supported the state's ''tough'' gun laws, and later signed an assault weapon ban. Designated May 7, 2005, as ''The Right to Bear Arms Day'' in the state.

Tom Tancredo: Earned an endorsement last year from the NRA, which gave him an ''A'' for his lifetime voting record on gun issues. Voted to protect gun makers from civil lawsuits.

Tommy Thompson: As governor of Wisconsin, signed legislation that increased penalties for gun violence near schools.

McCain Still Trying To Gag Gun Owners From Criticizing His Anti-gun Record
Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22151
(703)321-8585
Tuesday, February 28, 2006

A few weeks ago, we alerted you to legislation — introduced by anti-gun Senator John McCain (R-AZ) — which is aimed at squelching the First Amendment rights of grassroots groups like Gun Owners of America.

That bill, S. 2128, is ostensibly aimed at dealing with some of the congressional controversies that have hit the media in recent weeks. A true reform bill would focus the spotlight on members like John McCain, who was one of the original Keating Five senators who were deeply implicated in the savings and loan scandal.

Instead, McCain began his war on real transparency in 2002 when he teamed up with anti-gun Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) to push the Incumbent Protection Act into law — an act that stifles the ability of organizations like GOA to criticize elected officials before an election.

Now with the Gag Act (S. 2128), McCain wants to target his wrath on groups like GOA — requiring them to register their “grassroots” communications and to file twice as many frivolous reports.

If McCain succeeds in pushing an expansive interpretation of his bill (as he did when he convinced the courts to regulate the Internet under McCain-Feingold), then we could see a host of draconian restrictions affecting both GOA and you.

For example, if we wanted to alert you to gun ban that is moving in our nation’s capital, we could first have to tell McCain (and all his other buddies in Congress) about what we’re planning to do, who we’re planning to alert (that is, grassroots folks like yourself), how much money we plan to spend, etc.

Because of Section 105 in this bill, everyone with whom GOA contracts to get the word out (advertisers, printers, etc.) could be required to tell Congress twenty days in advance about GOA’s public information campaign.

In effect, we would end up alerting Sarah Brady every time we plan to wage a grassroots campaign in opposition to gun control.

This is ridiculous!

No doubt, the Gag Act is further proof that grassroots lobbying works. It works so well, that John McCain wants to muzzle it.

S. 2128 — or a bill that is similar to it — is now likely to come to the floor of the Senate in early March, according to Majority Leader Bill Frist. It is imperative that we contact our Senators today.

ACTION:

1. Please urge your Senators to oppose the Gag Act (S. 2128). And, if your Senator has cosponsored the bill, then he or she especially needs to hear from you. Senators who have cosponsored this bill are:

Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators a pre-written e-mail message such as the one below.

2. Take action and then please forward this alert to your pro-gun friends and family!

-—— Pre-written letter -——
Dear Senator:

Now that the Senate is looking to pass so-called lobbying reform legislation, I hope you will NOT support any bill that would gag grassroots lobbying organizations.

To be sure, John McCain’s bill (S. 2128) would do just that!

In 2002, Senators McCain and Feingold teamed up to pass the Incumbent Protection Act, a bill that infringes upon the First Amendment rights of gun owners and other Americans by squelching their ability to criticize elected officials before an election.

Now, Senator McCain wants to pass the Gag Act (S. 2128). In this latest version, McCain targets his wrath on grassroots organizations — requiring them to register their “grassroots” communications with their members and to file twice as many frivolous reports.

Please oppose S. 2128 or any other “reform” bill that would scapegoat outside groups, through which American citizens are better able to petition their government and which serve as government watchdogs.

Sincerely,

****************************

http://www.gunowners.org/a022806.htm

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