Majority of Americans Supports DOJ View
on Right-to-Arms
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"...[P]ro-gun stalwarts... continue to reject the anti-gun agenda of their [Democrat] party's leadership..." |
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Rep. Skelton (D-Mo) |
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Rep. Stenholm (D-Tx) |
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Rep. Peterson (D-Mn) |
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Rep. Strickland (D-Oh) |
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A recent Zogby International poll shows an overwhelming majority of
American voters (75%) support the Bush/Ashcroft Department of Justice's
(DOJ) accurate view that the Second Amendment protects an individual
right to keep and bear arms. The poll of "likely voters" showed that,
while Republicans were most likely to share this view (84%), a solid
majority of Democrats (65%) also supported the DOJ's position.
The
ridiculous fabrication by anti-gun extremists that the Second Amendment
protects only a "collective" right of states to maintain militias has
now been repudiated by countless historians and legal scholars, and is
proven to be resoundingly rejected by mainstream America. This poll
certainly explains why numerous Democrats are trying to distance
themselves from the perception that the Democratic Party is synonymous
with gun control - some honestly, while others are working purely in the
interest of expediency.
While there are countless lawmakers (as well as voters, as the Zogby
poll indicates) who are Democrats and who are solid supporters of the
Second Amendment, the most visible and vocal Democrats - including Senate
Majority Leader Tom Daschle (S.D.); House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt
(Mo.); U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.),
Ted Kennedy (Mass.), and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.); and U.S. Representatives,
David Bonior (Mich.) and John Conyers (Mich.) - are also some of the most
strident advocates of restricting our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
They, unfortunately, set the legislative and political agenda that all
other Democrats are expected to embrace.
But as anti-gun extremism continues to fall out of favor with the
general public, perhaps more pro-gun Democrats will begin to take a
greater role in directing the course of their party when it comes to
firearms. Already we have seen U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-Ga.) speak
passionately about his support of law-abiding gun owners when he spoke
at NRA's recent Annual Meetings in Reno, Nev. And pro-gun stalwarts
such as U.S. Representatives
John Dingell (Mich.),
Ike Skelton (Mo.),
Charles Stenholm (Tex.),
Collin Peterson (Minn.), and
Ted Strickland (Ohio), to name just a few, continue to reject the anti-gun agenda of
their party's leadership.
Unfortunately, another outcome of the general public's rejection of
anti-gun extremism seems to be a concerted effort by candidates to
disguise their anti-gun records, and campaign under the guise of being
"pro-gun." Most recently, we have seen former Philadelphia Mayor Ed
Rendell - one of the pioneers of the reckless lawsuit campaign designed to
drive law-abiding gun makers into bankruptcy - claim he "support[s] the
Second Amendment," while he sought the Democratic Party's nomination for
governor of Pennsylvania.
Professor John Lott |
But if having been endorsed by the gun-ban
lobby wasn't enough to tell you where Rendell truly stands, a recent
opinion piece in the Philadelphia Daily News by Professor John Lott
should remove all doubt. In the article, Professor Lott recalls an
encounter with Rendell in 1999. Lott stated he overheard the
then-Philly Mayor reassure representatives of the Violence Policy Center
(VPC), "I just can't say publicly what we want to do, we have to take
these things slowly." This comment to representatives of a group that
openly advocates banning firearms should be an eye-opener to anyone who
has bought into Rendell's deceptive campaign.
But Lott goes on to
relate that "Rendell said that, as a city prosecutor, he had never seen
a defensive gun use, and that as far as he was concerned, he had never
heard of a defensive gun use. He said that he didn't believe they
occurred." It's hard to imagine someone can claim to support the Second
Amendment, yet also claim to be ignorant of the defensive uses of
firearms by law-abiding citizens. Especially when research indicates
law-abiding citizens use firearms for defensive purposes as many as 2.5
million times a year.
Clearly there are many good Democrats who truly support our Right to
Keep and Bear Arms. But as the Rendell campaign shows, there are others
who continue to embrace the gun-ban agenda, but also understand the
general public has grown tired of anti-gun extremism. While some, like
Rendell, will do everything they can to camouflage their true anti-gun
views, you can rest assured that NRA will continue to expose those
lawmakers and candidates seeking office who are truly opposed to the
Second Amendment.
Related Stories...
More About Federal Issues
DOJ Reaffirms Constitution Protects Individual Right to Arms (Mar 2002)
NRA Considered Most Influential Lobbying Group (Mar 2001)
Zogby Poll Supports Clinton's Comments About NRA's Effectiveness (Dec 2000)
Zogby Poll Indicates NRA's Influence Exceeds it's Membership (Jun 2000)
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