February 18, 2010

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to endorse Dr. Rand Paul for U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

Rand Paul's commitment to the right to keep and bear arms is unwavering.  He understands that the framers of the Constitution viewed private ownership of firearms not merely as a hunting or sporting issue, but chiefly as a safeguard of liberty.

Dr. Paul is committed not only to defending the Second Amendment against further legislative attacks, but also in rolling back unconstitutional gun laws that are on the books.

On the campaign trail, Dr. Paul calls out politicians who "give lip service to the 2nd Amendment but then go off to Washington and vote to restrict gun ownership."

--  John McCain Wrong for Arizona, Wrong for America

February 19, 2010

John McCain has gone out of his way to earn the ire of conservatives and gun owners in his 20-plus years as a U.S. Senator from Arizona.

Perhaps his crowning legislative achievement was so-called campaign finance reform, or the McCain-Feingold law.  This law put the muzzle on organizations such as GOA, prohibiting any broadcast advertisements within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election that even mention the name of a candidate for federal office.

Not surprisingly, there is frequently a flurry of activity in Congress in the months right before an election, as politicians try to ram bills through at the end of a session.  Forbidding criticism of sitting legislators during these crucial times (although media corporations were exempt) made McCain's bill the perfect "Incumbent Protection" act.

McCain's bill prohibited the most important form of speech the Founding Fathers meant to protect with the First Amendment -- political speech -- so it was welcome news when the Supreme Court recently repudiated much of the McCain bill as an assault on liberty.

But it should not come as a surprise that McCain does not want voters hear about what he's up to in Washington, because the same person who holds the First Amendment in contempt would also like to run the Second Amendment through a shredder.

GOA Supports Pro-gun Champion Lou Barletta for Congress in 2010

Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, is best known for his fight against illegal immigration, but he is also a strong advocate of the right to keep and bear arms.

Mayor Barletta is running in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District against a 25-year entrenched incumbent.  In the 2008 election, Barletta came within 3 percentage points of winning this seat.  Given the voter outrage over the far left agenda being pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 2010 could be the year to finally send Lou Barletta to Congress.

Lou’s opponent, Paul Kanjorski, likes to play both sides of the fence on the gun issue.  He will cast an occasional pro-gun vote so he can go back to the district and try to convince voters that he is pro-gun, but he votes for the Pelosi agenda most of the time.

February 18, 2010

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to announce the endorsement of Steve Pearce for Congress in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District.
 
“During his six years as a U.S. Congressman, Steve Pearce earned an ‘A’ rating from Gun Owners of America for never wavering in support of the Second Amendment,” said GOA’s Vice Chairman Tim Macy.

His opponent, Harry Teague, voted three times in 2009 against the repeal of a gun ban on National Park Service land.

Teague also made some troubling comments on gun rights when he spoke in favor of suggested changes to the New Mexico Democrat Party platform.  The revisions included a three-day waiting period for gun purchases and limiting handgun purchases to one per month.

“I live out in the country, too, and I really am not a gun fan. We have so many people (in this country) who live on the ninth floor of an apartment building and really don’t know what a gun really should be used for. It would be fine with me to turn my guns in and don’t have them,” he said in 2000. 

In 2008, when he was running for Congress, Teague was asked about that quote. 

“So, you know, eight years ago I didn’t know I was going to be running for Congress,” he said. “If I had, I would have rephrased those quotes a little bit differently.”

While he may not be sure about Second Amendment rights, government run health care is a different matter.  “I understand that healthcare is not a privilege, but a right,” he wrote in 2008.

“Amazingly, Harry Teague manufactures a ‘right’ that is never mentioned in the Constitution yet he snubs the right to keep and bear arms, which is clearly articulated in the Bill of Rights,” Mr. Macy said.  “Harry Teague’s radical anti-gun views are far out of line with the mainstream beliefs held by a majority of Americans.  

“The choice for gun owners and sportsmen in New Mexico’s Second District could not be clearer.  Steve Pearce takes seriously the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution, and he will work in Congress to stop the gun control agenda of people like Harry Teague and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund enthusiastically supports Steve Pearce for Congress and encourages gun owners and sportsmen to help lead this pro-gun stalwart to victory in November.”

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