Second Amendment Stance of Presidential Candidates for 2016

B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
My intention with this thread is not to start a political debate; and I hope the Mods and members will keep that in mind. I would just like to provide a handy, easily reference factual resource where we can check candidate statements and actions on Second Amendment related issues.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT:
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Hillary Clinton
Voted for Kennedy Ammo Ban in 2004 - which was designed to ban centerfire rifle ammo (Sen. Kennedy specifically called out .30-30 as "armor-piercing" when introducing it)
Voted for AWB in 2004
Supports assault weapons bans, magazine bans and gun control generally
Long, long, long history of support for gun control including support for gun owner licensing, registration, bans, 25% tax on ammo and firearms, and other restrictive measures

Bernie Sanders
Voted to ban and confiscate semi-auto firearms in 2013
Voted to ban normal capacity magazines in 2013
Voted for registration/UBCs in 2013
Mixed long-term record on gun control as Governor of Vermont, solidly anti-gun as Senator
Worked with NRA to get elected as Governor of Vermont

Martin O'Malley
Favors registration and ban on semi-auto firearms
Long anti-gun record
Supports more restrictions on firearms, including mandatory smart gun technology

James Webb
Only Dem Presidential candidate with a remotely pro-2A record
NRA "A" grade as Senate candidate in 2006

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT (Top 7 only)
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Donald Trump
Supported mandatory waiting periods and bans on semi-auto firearms as Reform Party Candidate in 2000
Adopts more pro-2A stance in 2015
Roanoke shooting a mental health problem, not a gun problem

Jeb Bush
Consistently supported NRA legislation as Governor of Florida
NRA member since 1986
Showed poor understanding of Second Amendment, 10th Amendment, Constitution, and gave vague platitudes of support for gun control in Colbert show appearance (clip was later cut from Colbert show but made it to Youtube

Carly Fiorina
Says all the right things for pro-2A supporters (and articulately); but has no voting record to back it up.

Ben Carson
Mixed record of statements both supporting and opposing Second Amendment - weak on semi-auto weapons

Ted Cruz
Takes on Tavis Smiley after Charleston shooting supporting 2A
NRA meeting interview with Cruz
Lead author of the Amicus Brief for States in support of pro-2A Heller decision

Marc Rubio
Rated B+ by NRA, generally pro-2A

Scott Walker
Generally opposes gun control


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With 17 major Republican candidates who have extensive records, I can't possibly cover all of the candidates well. Just giving a blow-by-blow account of Hillary's decades long support of gun control measures that would turn your hair white would keep me busy for days. If you have factual references to the candidates view on the Second Amendment (statements to the press or public, or even better - actual votes on these issues) please share them in this thread so that we can all be better informed.

At the same time, please refrain from making this a thread about political opinion rather than political fact. There is a ton of factual information that describes the candidates intentions towards the Second Amendment quite well. We don't need to guess at it or give opinions on what might happen when we have plenty of examples of how they did behave to look at.
 
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I saw on another site that GOA has endorsed Mr. Cruz for President The list of reasons was pretty impressive. I apologize for no link but I'm fighting with a computer that won't let me do anything. Can't download, can't cut and paste it's a miracle I can even go to a site and post. :mad: I may dump this iMac and go back to a PC. Anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to find a link and check it out.
Paul B.
 
Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley calls for universal background checks, fingerprint licensing for gun purchases and a rejection of federally mandated concealed carry in a plan he says will "prevent and reduce" gun violence.
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Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy department.

If the plan will "prevent" gun violence ... what's left to "reduce"?

Politician = Doublespeak
 
Looks like former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is making his stance known
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He has been for a while. He's stated on numerous occasions that he considers his "F" rating from the NRA to be a badge of honor.

Maryland has long had "universal background checks" and a 7-day waiting period. During the post-Newton feeding frenzy, he pushed the 2013 Firearms Safety Act. Among its provisions was a ban on a wide class of "assault weapons," the banning of all magazines over ten rounds, and fingerprint requirements to own a gun. You also can't get an "assault pistol" there.

Of course, the law has done nothing to reduce violence. As of August, Baltimore alone had 213 homicides, and it is trending upward. Cause of death in the vast majority of those cases is from firearms.
 
I found this link discussing Sander's major gun votes since 1991. It is mixed until he is elected to the Senate when it becomes solidly anti-gun, here are some of the more concerning votes:

Sanders voted for the 1994 AWB
Sanders voted against the repeal of the AWB in 1996
Sanders voted against an amendment to make McCain-Lieberman's Gun Show Background Check Bill less burdensome
Sanders voted for a 3-day waiting period for sales of firearms at gun shows
Sanders voted against a bill allowing concealed carry across state lines (2009)
Sanders voted for the UN Arms Trade Treaty
Sanders voted against a bill allowing concealed carry across state lines but allowing an exception for states that prohibited the practice entirely
 
Tom Servo
[O'Malley has] stated on numerous occasions that he considers his "F" rating from the NRA to be a badge of honor.
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It's great to have someone fly the flag in the open! Now we can show once and for all the incontrovertible truth that the NRA is the sole agent standing in the way of peace, puppies and rainbo...

Tom Servo
Of course, the law has done nothing to reduce violence. As of August, Baltimore alone had 213 homicides, and it is trending upward. Cause of death in the vast majority of those cases is from firearms.
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oh. Um, never mind, carry on....
 
Thanks Bart !!

Bart,
It should be noted that your post is addressing where the candidates stand on the 2A of "our" Constitution and really not dealing with politics. I personally thank you for this post and it will be interesting to follow .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
I will opine that if a candidate only has an O/U shotgun for tweety bird and proclaims his or her interest in 'hunting' - that is worthless as a predictor of firearms issues.

Of course, other guns are no guarantee but it's something.
 
How about which ones own guns?
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Utterly irrelevant and possibly misleading.

Let's not forget that Dianne Feinstein is a gun owner. In fact, she's one of a very small group of people to hold a CCW permit in San Francisco.

Charles Schumer is a gun owner. He's best buds with the president of Colt.

Mark Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center invented the meme of "assault weapons" and led the charge to shut down "kitchen table" FFL dealers in the 1990's. He also holds an FFL in Washington DC.

Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords are gun owners. The list goes on.

Gun owner is a very poor indicator of support for the 2nd Amendment. I'd go so far as to throw temperance to the wind and say in means diddly squat.

There. I said it. I'm not sorry.

That said, I know many people who don't own guns but support the RKBA in principle.
 
"Utterly irrelevant and possibly misleading."
I wouldn't say 'irrelevant' although you're right on the second. For instance; how could someone like Christie who supposedly owns no firearms possibly have any claim to a standing on this issue besides that of someone opposed to civilian firearms ownership? I'm not saying he is (I'm really not), but the fact he has chosen to forgo his exercise of that right strongly implies he does not value it highly, especially in light of the lack of much disagreement with NJ's harsh restriction regime (which would be the only possible explanation for an adult of his means to have not acquired a firearm at any point up to now that isn't based on a moral objection). Same for Bush, only he doesn't even have the excuse of a repressive legal burden to cover his shame. Fiorina also, though to a lesser extent (seeing as it's CA with a pretty bad set of laws to deal with, and the fact that as a female her demographic was until quite recently not particularly drawn to firearms, "although her husband owns some" for whatever that is[n't] worth)

Personally, I value much more strongly the public attitude the candidates have shown towards firearms. After all, these fools spend all their time in DC or surrounded by armed guards, and could be raising a billion dollars instead of spending an hour at the range. As silly as it was, Cruz' bacon stunt showed he has a pretty mature attitude toward the whole thing, whether or not he's an enthusiast. He clearly told the country he thinks black rifles are fun. Though some of the more fringey candidates have said the same, I'm not aware of any other front runners that have, to date.

I mentioned this on a another forum; it's been since at least JFK* that we've had a legitimately pro-gun president, and that guy's death nearly cost us the entire 2nd amendment. The office of president may well be incompatible with a respect for individual rights (to keep and bear firearms, among others) at this point in history, regardless the personal motivations of the officeholder. Much like big city police chief and mayoral positions. I'd like to think this isnt' the case, and that we could still have a guy like Cruz or Walker spear-heading legislation to repeal federal laws or punish (I mean, 'disincentivize') the slave states for theirs. Something to keep in mind when imagining how much good a given candidate could do for our cause.

*Ike might have been anti-gun; can't really tell, as he was more pro-de-militarization of national forces, and the issue didn't really exist in his time. Truman was an NRA member like JFK, FDR sure as heck was an anti, and before him the last real federal gun issues were at the hands of Lincoln. We've had literally zero presidents that were actually favorable to us on this issue, so long as it's been an issue. At best, they've been ambivalent, while still nibbling our rights on the edges as it suited them (e.g. George W Bush)

TCB
 
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For instance; how could someone like Christie who supposedly owns no firearms possibly have any claim to a standing on this issue besides that of someone opposed to civilian firearms ownership?
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Counterpoint: I have six or seven friends who support the RKBA but don't own guns for various reasons. Some feel they don't need them. A couple feel uncomfortable because they have children in the house. One served in the Army, saw combat, and swore off them after that.

Come to think of it, there are certain civil liberties I support but may never exercise.
 
Hubert Humphrey - a liberal Democratic candidate for president

"The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible." -- Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minnesota)"
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Richard Nixon - a great president from the GOP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/richard-nixon-gun-control_n_2851660.html

"I don't know why any individual should have a right to have a revolver in his house," Nixon said in a taped conversation with aides. "The kids usually kill themselves with it and so forth." He asked why "can't we go after handguns, period?"

Nixon went on: "I know the rifle association will be against it, the gun makers will be against it." But "people should not have handguns."
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Glen, you have to admit though, that today's Democrat party supports more restrictions on ownership of firearms than today's Republican party. Historically, this may not be the case. But, historically, even the NRA was more willing to compromise our rights than they have been over the past 20+ years.

Of the leading Republican candidates there are only two that concern me a little on their stance on gun control: Trump and Christie. I think Trump will go with whatever way he sees being the trend - I don't think he cares to go after guns, unless it gets him more votes or more power. Christie is the governor of one of the most gun-unfriendly states in the country; I just can't take him seriously on gun rights nor do I believe him at all. Since Christie hardly ranks in the polls, I consider him a fringe Republican on firearms issues.
 
I agree. When the parties went to just having a defined core and those in the middle of each shuffled to the GOP or Dems, certain social issues became scripture for each.

That was a loss for the country has a whole.
 
The better Nixon quote is "guns are an abomination"

He was probably the most ardently anti-gun president we've had until Clinton (and even then, I not convinced the man's heart was in it so much as his entire political constituency demanded his action). Other presidents have done more or less damage than Nixon, but I'm not aware of any others (excepting perhaps the current one) who have so clearly articulated such extreme positions. FWIW, Nixon was off the record on that one, as ususal :rolleyes:

Probably our most anti-tobacco prez ever, too ;)

TCB
 
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