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Democrats divided over gun issue
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Democrats divided over gun issue
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Democratic governors from the South aligned themselves Monday with Georgia Sen. Zell Miller's call for Democrats to be more sympathetic and supportive of people who own guns.
"It's a rite of passage," Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes said. "We like to hunt."
"There was a perception in the last election with Vice President Gore that he was out of step with what most of us thought of that issue," Barnes said.
The Democrats' intraparty divide on guns surfaced Saturday night when Miller, a conservative Democrat, told the National Rifle Association that gun owners in states like Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia had cost Al Gore the 2000 election against George W. Bush. He touted the NRA's 4.2 million members as the epitome of "mainstream America."
"What many do not understand is that the gun issue is not just about guns," Miller told an NRA meeting in Reno.
"It's about values. It's about setting priorities. It's about personal freedom. It's about trust."
Most of the governors in Monday's conference call with reporters - Barnes, Don Siegelman of Alabama, Jim Hodges of South Carolina, Mike Easley of North Carolina, Ronnie Musgrove of Mississippi and Parris Glendening of Maryland - agreed that guns played at least some role in Gore's defeat. And they made clear that they are comfortable with the gun culture.
"My two children, 14 and 16, are avid hunters, as I am," Musgrove said.
Democrats have looked to Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's campaign as a model of how to defuse the gun issue. Members of "Sportsmen for Warner" stressed his support for hunting across rural Virginia. This month, Warner signed a law overturning a Virginia city's ban on concealed handguns in city buildings.
Democratic research backs up Miller's contention that the gun issue is as much about values and trust as it is about guns. Strategists say candidates can't get their foot in the door when voters believe they are hostile to guns and the gun culture.
Glen Bolger, a Republican pollster and strategist, said many rural Democratic candidates are against gun control, but it remains a core value of the national party. Even candidates who like to hunt are viewed with suspicion if they support more controls on handguns.
"For gun enthusiasts, it's the camel's nose under the tent," Bolger said.
"If you support any gun control, eventually you're going to support it all."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/04/30/guns.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Democratic governors from the South aligned themselves Monday with Georgia Sen. Zell Miller's call for Democrats to be more sympathetic and supportive of people who own guns.
"It's a rite of passage," Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes said. "We like to hunt."
"There was a perception in the last election with Vice President Gore that he was out of step with what most of us thought of that issue," Barnes said.
The Democrats' intraparty divide on guns surfaced Saturday night when Miller, a conservative Democrat, told the National Rifle Association that gun owners in states like Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia had cost Al Gore the 2000 election against George W. Bush. He touted the NRA's 4.2 million members as the epitome of "mainstream America."
"What many do not understand is that the gun issue is not just about guns," Miller told an NRA meeting in Reno.
"It's about values. It's about setting priorities. It's about personal freedom. It's about trust."
Most of the governors in Monday's conference call with reporters - Barnes, Don Siegelman of Alabama, Jim Hodges of South Carolina, Mike Easley of North Carolina, Ronnie Musgrove of Mississippi and Parris Glendening of Maryland - agreed that guns played at least some role in Gore's defeat. And they made clear that they are comfortable with the gun culture.
"My two children, 14 and 16, are avid hunters, as I am," Musgrove said.
Democrats have looked to Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's campaign as a model of how to defuse the gun issue. Members of "Sportsmen for Warner" stressed his support for hunting across rural Virginia. This month, Warner signed a law overturning a Virginia city's ban on concealed handguns in city buildings.
Democratic research backs up Miller's contention that the gun issue is as much about values and trust as it is about guns. Strategists say candidates can't get their foot in the door when voters believe they are hostile to guns and the gun culture.
Glen Bolger, a Republican pollster and strategist, said many rural Democratic candidates are against gun control, but it remains a core value of the national party. Even candidates who like to hunt are viewed with suspicion if they support more controls on handguns.
"For gun enthusiasts, it's the camel's nose under the tent," Bolger said.
"If you support any gun control, eventually you're going to support it all."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/04/30/guns.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
Edited by - Iconoclast on 05/01/2002 09:29:59
As always these idiots believe by sharing (SPINNING) that they like to hunt gives them some kind of insight into what Americans are concerned about. Apparently they still think/believe/spin the Second Amendment was inserted just to protect everyones right to hunt. It also tells me that they are absolutely ignorant of the true issue, protection of all our constitutional rights. As I have said before, "Give me a break!"
Lastly, if one thinks these jerks are harmless and that confiscation of guns could never happened in the good old USA, just look at what Daley is attempting in Illinois. This should be a wake-up call to all Americans.
Boomer, eyes wide open
Protect our Constitutional Rights.
Edited by - Boomerang on 05/01/2002 10:28:52
Edited by - Boomerang on 05/01/2002 11:56:26
ICONOCLAST- I had to read that Paris Glendennig reference three times before I realized I was not hallucinating. Glendennig is one of the most anti gun governors, yet feels comfortable with the gun culture??!!-no doubt, the Dems are up to their usual tricks.
Happiness is a warm gun
When Clinton left office they gave him a 21 gun salute. Its a damn shame they all missed....