ANJRPC/PAC Candidate Ratings and Preferences

The fate of the Second Amendment in our lifetime hangs on the outcome of the 2004 elections. Consider the following:

1. The next U.S. President will likely appoint up to four Supreme Court justices, and those justices will likely opine on whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right vs. a collective right (“collective” right means no individual right to own firearms). If you think the Supreme Court would never undermine a Constitutional amendment, think again. Their recent campaign finance reform decision dealt an inconceivable blow to free speech by holding that groups like NRA do not have the right to broadcast federal candidate ratings and criticisms within 60 days of an election, while allowing liberal media outlets unfettered control of the airwaves. Supreme Court appointments are for life, and they matter.

2. The next U.S. President could effectively extinguish the Second Amendment by entering into the global gun ban treaty being peddled at the United Nations. Such a treaty could supercede the Constitution and subject U.S. citizens both to international will and U.N. troops. To the U.N., America is selfish and out of step with the rest of the world, and the same forces that banned guns in England, Australia and Canada have the U.S. squarely in their sights. The Bush Administration has consistently and resolutely told the U.N. “no deal” on a gun ban treaty. What do you think a Kerry Administration would do?

John Kerry has travelled the nation toting a shotgun and wearing a blaze orange vest, claiming to support the Second Amendment. In reality, Senator Kerry’s 20-year record demonstrates that he is the most anti-gun presidential candidate in U.S. history. He has voted to ban most semi-automatic firearms; to ban most center-fire rifle ammunition; to hold gun manufacturers liable for illegal acts of violent criminals; to silence the voice of gun owners during elections; to eliminate the Civilian Marksmanship Program; to close off lands to hunting; to implement waiting periods even after a NICS background check; to criminalize private sales of firearms; to allow unlimited warrantless searches of FFL holders; and much more. He has 100% ratings from the Brady Campaign and PETA.

While most folks wear blaze orange to be seen, Senator Kerry wears blaze orange as camouflage to hide who he is. Anti-gun candidates have become craftier since firearms owners tipped the 2000 elections against Al Gore. A democratic strategy memo intercepted earlier this year counsels anti-gun candidates to seek gun-toting photo-ops and pay lip service to the Second Amendment to steal gun owner votes. They think gun owners are stupid and easily fooled.

In anti-gun states like New Jersey, there is temptation either not to vote at all or to vote for non-mainstream candidates as a protest against imperfect incumbents. With the fate of the Second Amendment at stake in this election, gun owners cannot afford to waste their votes. A recent poll revealed New Jersey as a potential swing state, with the gap between candidates narrowing to about five percentage points. Even if New Jersey does not swing toward freedom, gun owners need to step up en masse, show their growing numbers, and send a warning to anti-gun members of Congress. Defend Freedom on election day! 

Scott L. Bach is ANJRPC Executive Vice President and a Director of the NRA


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