Fred Thompson Video Message on the 2nd Amendment

[nra-life-member]

I think this is good stuff..

LINK:
Fred Thompson on the 2nd Amendment

• On the Second Amendment —"If you care about constitutional law, and everybody should, the big news is that it looks as if the Supreme Court is going to hear a Second Amendment case some time next year. The event that sparked this legal fuse was a case brought by six D.C. residents who simply wanted functional firearms in their homes for self-defense. In response, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the District’s 31-year-old gun ban — one of the strictest in the nation.

Our individual right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, may finally be confirmed by the high Court; but this means that we’re going to see increasing pressure on the Supreme Court from anti-gun rights activists who want the Constitution reinterpreted to fit their prejudices."

• On the Virginia Tech nightmare — "Virginia, like 39 other states, allows citizens with training and legal permits to carry concealed weapons. That means that Virginians regularly sit in movie theaters and eat in restaurants among armed citizens. They walk, joke and rub shoulders everyday with people who responsibly carry firearms -- and are far safer than they would be in San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C., where such permits are difficult or impossible to obtain.

The statistics are clear. Communities that recognize and grant Second Amendment rights to responsible adults have a significantly lower incidence of violent crime than those that do not. More to the point, incarcerated criminals tell criminologists that they consider local gun laws when they decide what sort of crime they will commit, and where they will do so."

• On gun control — Thompson opposes gun control, praising a recent federal appeals decision overturning a long-standing handgun ban in Washington, D.C.: "The court basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that."

His voting record:

Voted NO on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
Voted YES on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks. (Jul 1998)
Voted NO on $1.15 billion per year to continue the COPS program. (May 1999)
Voted YES on limiting death penalty appeals. (Apr 1996)
Voted YES on limiting product liability punitive damage awards. (Mar 1996)
Voted YES on restricting class-action lawsuits. (Dec 1995)
Voted YES on repealing federal speed limits. (Jun 1995)
Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)
Voted YES on spending international development funds on drug control. (Jul 1996)
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted NO on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women. (Mar 1998)
Voted NO on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business. (Oct 1997)
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning. (Dec 1995)
Voted NO on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds. (Jul 1995)
Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)
Voted YES on allowing all necessary force in Kosovo. (May 1999)
Voted NO on authorizing air strikes in Kosovo. (Mar 1999)
Voted YES on ending the Bosnian arms embargo. (Jul 1995)

• Gun Owners of America ratings — "He has no need to convince voters that he has changed his ways and now sees the light, because he has been fairly consistent throughout his career."

Here is the bottom line, folks — we in the gun culture do NOT have a second choice! Fred Thompson is our candidate; let's get him elected!

[swiven]

While he may be talking a good game now, GOA shows that he voted anti-gun 13 out of 33 times in his senate career. http://gunowners.org/pres08/thompson2.htm

If you want to argue that he's the least odious of the candidates that the media has dubbed electable, I might be able to go along with you. But I personally need more than that to give a candidate my support.

[KBCraig]

I think this is good stuff..

And I think it's a carefully edited crock of kimchi.

• On the Second Amendment —"If you care about constitutional law, and everybody should,

Yes, we should. And we should care about the First Amendment too. (More on that later).

His voting record:

It would be nice if actual bill numbers were cited.

Voted NO on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)

Got to call foul on that one. What vote was there to actually loosen license and background checks at gun shows? The laws at gun shows are the same as the laws everywhere else (except in those states that have further restricted sales if they take place at a gun show). What bill proposed loosening licenses and background checks at gun shows?

Voted NO on $1.15 billion per year to continue the COPS program. (May 1999)
Voted YES on limiting death penalty appeals. (Apr 1996)
Voted YES on limiting product liability punitive damage awards. (Mar 1996)
Voted YES on restricting class-action lawsuits. (Dec 1995)
Voted YES on repealing federal speed limits. (Jun 1995)
Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)
Voted YES on spending international development funds on drug control. (Jul 1996)
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted NO on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women. (Mar 1998)
Voted NO on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business. (Oct 1997)
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning. (Dec 1995)
Voted NO on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds. (Jul 1995)
Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)
Voted YES on allowing all necessary force in Kosovo. (May 1999)
Voted NO on authorizing air strikes in Kosovo. (Mar 1999)
Voted YES on ending the Bosnian arms embargo. (Jul 1995)

Blah-blah-blah, having nothing to do with guns.

• Gun Owners of America ratings — "He has no need to convince voters that he has changed his ways and now sees the light, because he has been fairly consistent throughout his career."

There is "disingenuousness", and then there is "lying by omission". That selective quote falls into the latter category.

The GOA quote was sarcasm, if you read it in context at the link swiven provided. The next (omitted) sentences say (emphasis mine):

He is in his own words "against gun control, generally." And his voting record shows that to be true, generally. When he voted anti-gun, it was usually to expand federal authority. This is unfortunately consistent with his being a "law and order" conservative (pardon the pun). A complete report on each individual vote is appended below.

Gun owners should also be aware that Thompson unabashedly favors the odious McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Act. This legislation, characterized by its proponents as campaign finance reform, severely limits the abilities of groups like GOA to inform the public about the gun rights voting records of politicians already in office. In many cases, it becomes illegal to even mention a politician's name in on-air advertising the month before an election.

Here is the bottom line, folks — we in the gun culture do NOT have a second choice! Fred Thompson is our candidate; let's get him elected!

"We"? got a frog in your pocket?

There is only one candidate from any party who has a 20 year track record of voting strictly in accordance with the Constitution.

It's not Fred Thompson.

[nra-life-member]

OK, then the winner would be?

BTW - didn't say I agree 100% with the post from the Downrange site, just posting what was there w/ the link..

[Xander]

OK, then the winner would be?

Take a look at his signature.

[nra-life-member]

Thanks.. I don't see Ron Paul as winning..

I just spent a few minutes reviewing his website. I was not impressed when I heard him - but then again - I only hear him once.. I don't agree with his total take on "War and Foreign Policy" - which should always be a concern of this country. We are global..

I like what he says about "Border Security and Immigration Reform" - an issue that needs to be handled - yesterday.

[O6nop]

Thanks.. I don't see Ron Paul as winning..

That's what the media says, too.

I agree with KBCraig, and I appreciate him shedding the light on Thompson's record.

Even if I knew Ron Paul wouldn't win, I'd vote for him because I think he's the best candidate. If nothing else, his revolution is getting many people to think about where this country is headed. He is devoted to the Constitution and I hope his devotion catches on, regardless of the outcome of the election.

I know this thread's about Fred Thompson, so I'll just end with a "yeah, that!" to KBCraig's post.

[Charles L. Cotton]

This is my post on another thread regarding GOA's "evaluation" of Thompson's voting record.

Chas.

Folks need to take a look at the GOA bogus anti-Thompson website and see what the bills actually deal with, not merely rely upon GOA’s determination of what is and what isn’t “Pro-Gun� or “Anti-Gun.� In typical GOA fashion, they play fast and loose with what is truly a gun-related bill. The lists below use GOA’s creative captioning of the bills exactly as they appear in the GOA website. In using them, by no means do I accept their descriptions as being even remotely accurate. In some cases they are, in many cases they are laughable. I have also used bold print for bills that, if the descriptions are accurate, I believe are directly related to guns and provide at least some indication of a pro-gun or anti-gun vote. I have not put self-serving, result-oriented GOA tripe such as “praising the gun control mommies� and “Gun Control Lite� in bold print, in either the pro-gun or anti-gun categories

Even using GOA’s highly suspect captioning, Thompson’s votes on bills that have a direct bearing on guns is 12 pro-gun votes to 2 anti-gun votes.

Chas.

Here are the topics of the bills on which GOA claims Thompson voted pro-gun:

Taxpayer funding to anti-gun lobby groups
Taxpayer funding to anti-gun groups - 2nd vote
Taggants in gunpowder
Kohl “Gun Free Zones� ban
Smith “Anti-Brady� Amendment
Banning importation of magazines
Mandatory unsafe gun storage requirements
“Lock Up Your Safety� mandatory trigger locks
Background registration checks
Banning of private sales of firearms at gun shows
Anti-gun juvenile crime bill
Mandatory trigger locks with new handgun sales
Hatch-Craig Gun Control Lite
More severe regulation of internet gun sales
Medium-capacity magazine ban
Gun show ban
Praising the gun control mommies
Senate instructions to pass gun control(Reed)
Senate instructions to pass gun control (Boxer)
Attacking gun makers in court

Now compare these bills with what GOA lists as bills that are “anti-gun:�

Government wiretapping of innocent citizens
Anti-terror bill
Anti-terror bill – final passage
Lautenberg Domestic Confiscation gun ban
Free Speech restrictions
Gutting of Smith “Anti-Brady� Amendment
Anti-gun Clinton judge appointment
Anti-gun Surgeon General
Ending filibuster of a major anti-gun crime bill
Young adult gun ban
Adopting the “Gun Control Lite� strategy
McCain’s Incumbent Protection (2000 version)
Incumbent Protection (2002 fail filibuster)

[KBCraig]

Thanks.. I don't see Ron Paul as winning..

That's what the media says, too.

At this point in the election cycle, Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis, and Jimmy Carter were all polling at 3% or less. They all won the nomination, and two of them became President. At this same point, Pat Buchanan was about 4% in the polls, and he won the New Hampshire primary.

Polls of the general public at this point in the game are completely meaningless.

[nra-life-member]

Chas -
Thank You for the input!