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Posted on 10/27/2008 7:47:29 PM PDT by neverdem
ST. PAUL — Al Franken suggested he and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman agree on gun rights.
“I support the 2nd Amendment,” Franken said. “I don’t think we’re any different on this.”
Coleman shot that down.
“That is a stunning statement,” he told the Democrat during a Friday night debate among Minnesota’s three major candidates for U.S. Senate.
Coleman, locked in a tight battle with Franken, said his main opponent got a failing grade from the National Rifle Association and has suggested limiting gun ownership.
“There’s no question that there’s significant differences,” Coleman said, touting his “A” rating from the NRA.
That was among issues over which the candidates sparred during their fourth debate, on Twin Cities Public Television’s “Almanac” public affairs show.
The one-hour debate’s loose format — no timed answers or formal opening or closing statements — yielded the candidates’ most lively interaction of the campaign.
Franken challenged Coleman’s willingness to work with Democrats. Coleman said Franken misrepresented him, did not understand Senate actions and lacks a record of accomplishment.
Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, trailing Franken and Coleman by at least 15 points in polls, played the role he has in previous debates. He presented himself as an alternative to gridlocked Democrats and Republicans.
The three candidates agreed on one issue: They would oppose a second economic stimulus package like one Congress passed earlier this year that send government checks to taxpayer mailboxes.
But a question about the 2nd Amendment sparked a feisty exchange.
Franken said repeatedly that he supports citizens’ right to own firearms, but also said he supports background checks and a national gun ownership database.
Franken said he is not a hunter, but went hunting for the first time last year with U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of western Minnesota.
Republicans have questioned Franken’s support for 2nd Amendment rights, and Coleman’s campaign issued a statement following the debate that included excerpts from one of Franken’s books and a quote from a radio interview to suggest he is at odds with gun-rights advocates.
“You think I really want to take people’s guns away?” he asked.
Barkley said that he and Coleman are the two who agree on gun-rights issues.
“The 2nd Amendment is the guardian for all the others,” he said.
The candidates met before a national audience; the debate was broadcast live nationwide on C-SPAN 2. They will meet one more time, in a Minnesota Public Radio-sponsored debate at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.
SCOTT WENTE works for Forum Communications, which owns the Duluth News Tribune.
Doomed dooomed dooooooomed. I'm ok the wife just slapped me...and I liked it.
“The 2nd Amendment is the guardian for all the others”
Best line I’ve heard from a pol in quite a while - wish Coleman had said it.
Al's not gonna' be on the list.
Franken’s such a liar his boyfriend has to call the dog at dinnertime.
As noted in my tagline, the second amendment has NOTHING to do with hunting. It has a lot more to do with securing the other aspects of the constitution and its amendments.
Yep...a national gunowner data base is a good start little Hitler.
A “feisty exchange” and nothing mentioned by the news rag.
What the hell. I just wasted 2 minutes of my life.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Why not a national database of all books checked out of libraries? Liberals would flip out if the government wanted that info, but gun owners who are bothered by a national gun registry are just a bunch of paranoid nuts.
My standard is the loaded unlocked AR-15 I keep in the corner. If a candidate’s voting history and rhetoric agree with it, fair enough.
I don’t want to hear weasel words like “hunting” or “reasonable restrictions.”
Franken is pond scum.
That worked really well for the Jews in Europe under the control of Hitler in WWII. The real irony is that Al Franken is Jewish!
Six million unarmed dead Jews and it seems very few people learned anything from that.
IF you meant the Ruger LCP 380 semiauto, it is an allocated item, which means you simply can’t order one. The best you can do is check around with Ruger dealers and maybe you’ll find one in stock. There is no point checking with a dealer who is not on the company list of Ruger dealers, because they can’t get one for you.
Just buy your guns from private parties....screw any national database, and the BATF for that matter.
I loved that line too!
Or try HERE.
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