Will gun rights be a major issue for the 2008 election?

Question

I'm thinking yes because already we see the enemies of the 2nd Amendment (Rosie O'Donnell, Sarah Brady, etc) trying to exploit tragedy to further their vile agenda.


Fortunately for us, the defenders of liberty such as the NRA, will rise to meet these attacks and those with a poor track record on gun rights will be exposed (Clinton, Obama, Romney, etc)

All of this will take place in the context of the 2008 Presidential race.

Answer 1

I hope people are willing to think twice about more gun control. Gun rights will probably be a major issue in 2008.

I'm gonna quote Wikipedia on the gun records of some GOP Candidates.

McCain

The Gun Owners of America, a gun rights organization, have described John McCain's gun-rights voting record as "abysmal, wretched, and pathetic."

Giuliani

As Mayor of New York, Giuliani became a nationally visible figure in favor of gun control measures, beginning with an appearance on Meet the Press in late 1993.[21] He was in favor of the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.[10] In 1997, while the Assault Weapons Ban was in effect, he called for a stricter federal ban on assault weapons and for handgun registration on the federal level. He also endorsed President Bill Clinton's proposals for more stringent federal gun-licensing requirements. Beginning in 1997, he regularly criticized states in the Southern United States for having permissive laws on gun sales, that fed an illegal movement of guns into New York City; he said that 60 percent of guns found in New York came from Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. He endorsed amendments to city laws requiring gun owners to use trigger locks and prohibiting guns within a thousand feet of schools.

On June 20, 2000 the City of New York filed a lawsuit against gun manufacturers and distributors. Giuliani accused gun companies of "deliberately manufacturing many more firearms than can be bought for the legitimate purposes of hunting and law enforcement." Giuliani also said, "This lawsuit is meant to end the free pass that gun industry has enjoyed for a very, very long time.... The more guns you take out of society, the more you are going to reduce murder." . The lawsuit remains active. During his abortive run for the New York Senate seat in 2000, he advocated a uniform national standard for all gun owners and supported legislation that gave New York State the most restrictive gun laws in the nation.

Romney

Romney in past campaigns has described himself as a proponent of gun control. For Romney' s 1994 US Senate campaign, he supported the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on particular assault weapons. In a 2002 debate during Romney's campaign for governor of Massachusetts, Romney said: "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them. I won't chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety." As governor, Romney signed a 2004 measure instituting a permanent Massachusetts ban on assault weapons, to take the place of a federal assault weapons ban, which was then about to expire. The bill made Massachusetts the first state to enact its own such ban, and Romney supported the law with the comment: "These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."

The Republican frontrunners are all supporters of gun control. However, Ron Paul has never supported gun control and recently had an interview the other day on politico.com where he made it clear that gun control leads to shootings.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3556.html

Let's hope the NRA exposes the frauds that McCain, Giuliani, and Romney are. Maybe they'll even endorse Ron Paul, since he's always been against gun control.

Answer 2

Hillary Clinton and Obama are 100% pro-machine gun. They will take it to the next level by proposing that it be legal for any American or illegal aliens to own a howitzer in their back yards for hunting ants. Beat that Guiliani

Answer 3

I believe that a majority of US Citizens want to outlaw automatic weapons. However, the Politicians running in 2008 will do everything possible to dodge the issue.

Answer 4

I think not because the Democrats know it will alienate them. Meanwhile the Republicans love the guns so there won't be a debate there.
At least not for 2008.

So the issues at stake will be the Iraq war, health care and tax.

Answer 5

The incident at Virginia Tech will an issue in the 2008 Presidential election and candidates that are pro-gun could lose.

VOTE for your choice as US President on my 360 degrees blog and know who will likely win.

Answer 6

I doubt it.

Most likely, the NRA will be sucking up to candidates, just like any other special interest group.

Answer 7

Unfortunantly it probably will. It will become another bandwagon for all the do-gooders to jump on. If the crack pot in Virginia didn't have a gun, what would he have used instead? Bombs, poison? Or maybe he would have gotten his guns off the black market.

Answer 8

This election will be about rationality, and reality. Not fantastical moonbeam gunsmoke style gunfights in the streets of america over who stole your bagel. The majority of people support more restrictions on gun ownership. Wave bye bye John Wayne.

Answer 9

No. It's a major loser for liberals and they know it. They'll do nothing that might unite their opposition.