Democrats rethink gun control
Good:
The Democratic Party, long identified with gun control, is rethinking its approach to the gun debate, seeking to improve the chances of its candidates in Western states where hunters have been wary of casting votes for a party with a national reputation of being against guns.
The Democrats’ effort to soften their rhetoric on gun control is similar to the party’s recent efforts to recast its message on abortion, maintaining their support of abortion rights but welcoming more Democrats who favor restrictions on the procedure.
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who had been a critic of some forms of gun control during his tenure as governor of Vermont, has urged candidates to view gun control laws as state issues, allowing those in rural states to reflect the values of hunters and others hostile to gun control, while supporting restrictions in urban areas with serious crime problems.
And this quote from the Montana Governor (a Democrat) is worth pointing out:
”I guess I kind of believe in gun control: You control your gun, and I’ll control mine,” Schweitzer said.
Update: Coincidentally, this is why I like Bredesen. Any Democrat who signs Shall Issue NFA Approval into law can’t be all that bad.
December 19th, 2005 at 10:30 am
Heh, for the longest time I’d forgotten Bredesen was a democrat…
December 19th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
He may be a Dem, but he’s from Montana, which from what I can tell, is working hard to occupy the anti-Fed spot left vacant when South Carolina was subjugated in 1865.
And I’ll bet he’d be as popular with the party base as Lieberman is right now.
Now, there’d be an interesting Dem ticket in ’08-Bredeson/Lieberman.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:02 am
[…] If the Democrats actually get their collective shit together over this whole gun issue (which they appear to be trying to do), I’ll vote for them because the parties are the same except for that and taxes. And I’d pay more in taxes for gun rights guarantees. Or, as I said before, I’m willing to buy my freedom. […]
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:28 am
[…] In a rebuttal to Democrats recasting their image on gun control, Alan Gottlieb and Joe Waldron: Milligan’s well-written piece, unfortunately, did not explain that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting, nor did it say that Democrats are changing their opinions about guns and the people who own them. Not surprisingly, gun rights activists who frequent KeepAndBearArms.com – the busiest firearms rights website in the country – were quick to pick up on this. Wrote one correspondent: “It’s always ‘seeking to improve the chances of its candidates’. Notice exactly whom that serves…OK, contrast it to ‘seeking to better understand their constituents’ needs’.” […]