Any pro-gun presidential candidate viable?

[Cooter]

Do you think any of the pro-gun presidential candidates this year have a chance? Obviously, they are not on the top of the charts so far. But if the NRA, GOA, etc. recommend the same guy, do you think he'll have a chance come election day?


P.S. This is, undoubtably, an important election year. We need to band together to support our rights, or we will surely fail. Encourage friends and neighbors to cast thier votes.

[ronwill]

Unfortunately the runners will be John McCain and either Obama or Clinton, or worse an Obama/Clinton ticket of some sort. To try and vote for anyone other than McCain will only widen the chances of a Dem win. Remember what happened with Ross Perot. My hope is McCain will ask Mike Huckabee to be his running mate.

[HK4U]

NO. We are in trouble. I doubt if MCCane is any better than the other two when push comes to shove.

[Big Bubba]

McCain and Huckabee ticket would be right up my alley at this point in time. McCain leaves a bit to be dersired when it comes to 2nd amendment issues. Considering the alternatives with Hilderbeast and Hussein.

[The Gunny]

No one I consider to be pro 2nd ammendment made the cut, to bad. I think Mcain is the less offensive candidate however he has a uphill fight on his hands. I do not look for good things to happen in the way of pro gun legislation in the next 4 years. I think we will be damn lucky to hold on to what we have. I pray that the SCOTUS decision will be in our favor and it will offer us some protection from what future politicians have in mind for us.

[Red Hat]

I agree with you Gunny. Everything now hinges around the SCOTUS decision. If we get a positive ruling then the Gun Control crowd will be totally nullified. Even with that Mccain will still be the best candidate for the job. There is no way I want another liberal in the White House!

Edit. I didn't vote because none of them have a chance being elected!

[toreskha]

McCain isn't an overtly pro-gun candidate - he's not waving his NRA membership around or anything. He has said he "doesn't own a gun but knows how to use one" - while that makes him a little different from us, it doesn't mean he's scared of firearms. Rather, he doesn't go hunting, and as a senator, he has probably had a well-armed security detail following him around everywhere for many years. Since he probably doesn't frequent the ghetto much, within reasonable circumstances he really doesn't have a logical reason to carry. Makes sense, if you're not explicitly a gun fan to begin with.

IMO, most of the anti-McCain feeling has been spread by these hot-air balloons on talk radio that make him out to be some sort of covert liberal. In fact, his actual voting record shows that they're mostly lying.

Here's his record from ontheissues.org since 1998...I can't find any fault with it.

# Voted YES on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)
# Voted YES on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence. (Mar 2004)
# Voted NO on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
# Voted YES on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
# Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
# Voted YES on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks. (Jul 1998)

I expect McCain will continue his trend and at least be gun-amicable, if not necessarily gun-enthusiastic. These days, it's doubtful anyone could realistically expect to get elected while promising anything dramatic, like legalizing national open carry or reversing the FFA. That kind of thing takes time.

[ecocks]

Originally Posted by toreskha

I expect McCain will continue his trend and at least be gun-amicable, if not necessarily gun-enthusiastic. These days, it's doubtful anyone could realistically expect to get elected while promising anything dramatic, like legalizing national open carry or reversing the FFA. That kind of thing takes time.

I agree with Toreskha, he's not an anti, but may need reminding every now and then not to give anything away while he's log-rolling to achieve what he thinks is a higher priority objective.

[toreskha]

Originally Posted by ecocks

I agree with Toreskha, he's not an anti, but may need reminding every now and then not to give anything away while he's log-rolling to achieve what he thinks is a higher priority objective.

Thankfully, the NRA and similar organizations do a pretty good job of the "reminding" part. Let's just make sure they keep their political clout. That clout is purchased with money and their members reminding their legislators that gun rights are still, and always will be, an issue. A lot of people think that letters and phone calls don't matter, but they do - they remind both elected officials, and their many aides who help them, that people are attentive enough to go to through the trouble.

When there's a full agenda, someone might ask, "Hey, how many calls have we gotten about this concealed carry law thing in the past week?" If it's a particularly obscure bill and they haven't really gotten anything from the NRA about it, every contact really does make a difference. They realize people are watching of their own accord, and the more people who are watching, the more of a chance there is that a bad reaction could hit conservative press (WND, Newsmax, etc) after the bill finally gets some publicity.

When in doubt, let your legislators know what you're thinking! :duim: