Barr ’08

Second Amendment enthusiasts in Pennsylvania aren’t happy with Sen. John McCain and are looking at Bob Barr:

Perhaps the most concerned about Second Amendment politics are the online members of the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners’ Association, most of whom chose to openly carry their guns when they gathered for a regional picnic at Hazle Township Community Park on Oct. 25. The majority of picnickers said they would likely vote neither for Obama nor Republican candidate John McCain, but Libertarian candidate Bob Barr or another fringe candidate who hews more closely to their pro-gun, government-wary point of view.

Few local gun owners support Obama, who so far has largely tailored his gun stance to hunters, whom he has promised will be able to buy and transport firearms, though he supports control of assault weapons and stricter gun licensing laws. McCain, meanwhile, opposes banning assault weapons or confiscating citizens’ guns after an emergency. But neither candidate goes as far as Barr, who rejects “any law requiring registration of, or restricting the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition to law-abiding citizens,” according to his Web site.

As has been pointed out here many times, Bob has an “A+” lifetime rating with the National Rifle Association. McCain’s record is sketchy at best, which has been pointed out by NRA officials, while Sen. Barack Obama’s record is abysmal.

This leaves gun owners no where else to go but Bob Barr.

Our good friend Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is again saying that Bob Barr is best candidate on the Second Amendment issues:

While defending Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s record, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Tuesday that Montana voters whose main issue is guns might consider voting for Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr instead of either Obama or Republican John McCain.

Schweitzer said he doesn’t believe McCain can point to any edge over Obama with voters on the gun issue because the Republican senator sponsored a 2004 amendment to require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions at gun shows.

Still, Schweitzer, a Democrat endorsed by the NRA, conceded that neither Obama nor McCain “are the favorites of the NRA.”

“If guns are your primary issue, you’re probably not going to like either of these guys,” Schweitzer said during an telephone news conference put on by the Obama campaign.

He said a third option for voters for whom guns is their primary issue is to vote for Barr, a former Georgia congressman, “if you’re absolutely not going to vote for McCain or Obama on guns.”

The NRA has given Barr a grade of A-plus, while handing McCain a C and giving Obama an F for their votes on gun-related issues in Congress over the years.

This is the third time that Schweitzer has made this type of remark. You can read about his previous comments here and here.

It looks like the NRA is finally getting involved in the presidential race:

The NRA has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate. LaPierre planned news conferences Thursday in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Colorado and Nevada to make an announcement on the presidential election. He declined Wednesday to reveal which candidate the NRA would endorse but added that the group would “be foolish to overlook the vast areas of agreement” it has with John McCain.

Let’s take a look at how the NRA feels about Sen. John McCain.

In 2001, NRA President Wayne LaPierre said, “Is it possible that John McCain thinks you have too much freedom?” According to NewsMax, LaPierre was angry over advertisements McCain appeared in for Americans for Gun Safety, an anti-Second Amendment group who’s website now points to the Brady campaign, and McCain-Lieberman, a bill designed to close the so-called “gun show loophole.”

After appearing in the ads, the NRA called McCain, “one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment” and “the poster boy for Americans For Gun Safety.” Strong words.

By the way, McCain’s position hasn’t changed on the “loophole” issue.

As early as April of this year, NRA Executive Director Chris Cox told The Hill, “John McCain still has some work to do” to gain the trust of the NRA. Cox added, “Truth be told, he’s not there yet.”

In 2004, the NRA issued lifetime rankings of all members of Congress. Sen. McCain received a “C+”, indicating a mixed record on the Second Amendment.

Bob Barr has an “A+” lifetime rating from the NRA. Bob serves on the board of the NRA. His record on the Second Amendment is without question.

Given the fact that Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox have exposed John McCain as an anti-gun sympathizer, we here at Bob Barr 2008 fully expect that the NRA will announce their support for Bob Barr tomorrow and run ads against both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

Bob will be speaking today at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Other speakers include Alan Gura and Bob Levy, the team that argued the Heller case at the Supreme Court, Wayne LaPierre and John Lott.

Bob took a break from the campaign trail today to take on New York City’s anti-gun and ban happy mayor, Mike Bloomberg:

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr argued Tuesday in Atlanta that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defamed a Georgia sporting goods store.

Barr argued in a federal appeals court that Bloomberg defamed the store when he labeled it 1 of several “rogue gun dealers” putting firearms on his city’s streets.

Barr is pursuing a $400 million libel lawsuit against Bloomberg and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Barr is taking a break from the campaign trail to argue the case himself. He claims New York officials damaged the reputation of Adventure Outdoor Sports in Smyrna when they suggested the shop violated federal gun laws.

The hearing at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest salvo in a two- year legal battle that began when Bloomberg sued 15 firearms brokers in five states, including Georgia.

Separately, the campaign issued a press release calling on Congress to take steps to force the District of Columbia to stop side-stepping the Heller ruling. Bob says, ““Normally, the federal government should not interfere in local legislative matters, but no state is authorized to violate the Constitution.”

Bob is the only candidate running for president with an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association.

This afternoon, Bob Barr issued a press release publicly praising the decisions of the Harrold, Texas school district for their recent policy change that allows teachers and staff to carry a concealed handgun on school property.  He noted that this may make this particular district one of the safest for students and faculty in the nation.  Mr. Barr’s words on the policy change:

The best defense against crime is law-abiding citizens ready and able to defend themselves.  The police can’t be everywhere at once, so the rest of us have to be prepared to act to stop crime.  That’s why the school district in Harrold, Texas deserves praise for changing its policy to allow teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns.  That school will be one of the safest in the country when classes restart next week.

[...]

We need a president who will uphold and aggressively protect the right of Americans to own firearms for any lawful purpose, including, most importantly, defense of one’s self and family, as Suzanna Hupp reminds us.  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to buy a gun.  But the anti-gun lobby continues to fight to restrict firearm ownership.  Barack Obama long has opposed gun rights and John McCain has received only lukewarm C+ ratings from the National Rifle Association.  Neither can be counted on to truly protect this most fundamental constitutional right.

Our highest goals as citizens are preserving our lives and freedoms.  Gun ownership is a critical means to achieve both of these ends.  The American people can count on a Barr administration to uphold and aggressively protect their basic liberties, including the constitutional right of gun ownership.

Neither status quo party candidate has commented publicly in favor of this decision.  The requirements for the teachers and other staff who choose to carry a concealed weapon while at school are that they have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, are authorized to carry by the district, receive training in crisis management and hostile situations, and use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.  This independent school district in North Texas certainly seems to be on the right track in keeping their students and faculty safe from harm.  You can view the press release in its entirety here.

Blogger Kevin Tracy says that NRA has a candidate with a solid Second Amendment record in Bob Barr:

Those voters who put a lot of emphasis on the second amendment and traditionally vote Republican may be in for a rude surprise when they look into the record of John McCain. As it turns out, Senator McCain’s record on the Second Amendment is sketchy at best, earning him only a C from the prestigious National Rifle Association (NRA).

The NRA has the distinct privilege of being the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. But that doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be backing the oldest presidential candidate. In fact, there’s another candidate with a far better record than Senator McCain on issues relating to gun rights and the Second Amendment.

That candidate is Bob Barr, who proudly sports an A+ rating from the NRA for every year of the man’s career in the United States Congress. That’s no small accomplishment and gun owners and advocates of the Second Amendment, who are among the most well informed voting blocks in the country, are going to realize how inadequate John McCain is to represent them on issues important to them.

Unlike Senator John McCain, there is no ambiguity in Bob Barr’s record on the Second Amendment. It is clear , concise and even praised by the NRA with his “A+” grade on gun issues.

The NRA should reexamine their own critiques of Senator John McCain before putting politics before principle.

The NRA has responded to Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s recent comments, which some have taken to be somewhat of an endorsement for Bob Barr:

A top official with the National Rifle Association said Wednesday the Barack Obama campaign is trying to mislead voters about his past support of gun control, calling the Democratic candidate “a poster child of the extremist, elitist gun control movement.”

Chris W. Cox, the NRA’s chief lobbyist, said he was responding to recent comments made by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a gun-loving Democrat who has earned the group’s backing in his re-election bid.

Schweitzer told reporters this week that Obama “ain’t ever going to take your gun away” and suggested there was little difference between the Democrat and Republican John McCain. The NRA said Schweitzer was misrepresenting the candidates’ positions.

“To somehow suggest (Obama) is supportive of gun owners because he says so when he is in Montana running for president is absurd,” Cox said in a telephone interview from Virginia. “We are going to make sure that anybody that tells Montana gun owners that Barack Obama is not a threat to gun owners is exposed as someone who is not shooting straight.”

Cox said, while the NRA disagrees with Schweitzer’s opinion, the group has no plans to take back its endorsement of the governor, who is up for re-election in November.

Schweitzer said Wednesday that he stands by his comments, which included the assertion that people who vote solely on the gun issue may look to Libertarian candidate Bob Barr in November. Barr has earned an “A” from the NRA, while McCain had received a “C” and Obama an “F.”

“I don’t hand out these report cards around here,” Schweitzer said. “Barr has an A or A+, and neither of the other candidates do. That is the point I was making, and I stand by it.”

Cox also acknowledges that McCain has been at odds with the NRA at times. But the “C” grade the NRA has given McCain only tells half the story. The NRA once called John McCain, “one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment.” The NRA’s own judgment of McCain’s records seems to be somewhat at odds with their lashing out at Gov. Schweitzer.

Why vote for someone on the issue with a questionable record, like Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama? Instead of wrangling over the question, the NRA and voters should look at the evidence laid out by Gov. Schweitzer and see for themselves that Bob Barr has the strongest record on the Second Amendment.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) points out that Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr has an advantage over McBama on the Second Amendment:

“Neither of these guys is the favorite of the (National Rifle Association),” Schweitzer said. “If guns are your primary issue, you may not like either of these guys.”

Schweitzer, who hangs a gun on his wall in apparent defiance of an ordinance banning firearms in public buildings, spoke with reporters on behalf of the Obama campaign about how he believes the Illinois senator can carry Montana.

The Democratic governor, also on the ballot this year, said he thinks those who vote on the gun issue alone will be equally troubled by McCain and Obama. He said neither is perfect with the National Rifle Association scorecard - McCain has received a “C” and Obama an “F.”

The governor said such voters may turn to Libertarian Bob Barr, “if you are absolutely not going to vote for McCain or Obama on guns.”

Bob is a member of the National Rifle Association’s Board of Directors and consistently received an “A+” rating from the oldest civil rights organization in the United States.

Some of you may know, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in DC v. Heller, the District of Columbia is still attempting to subvert the Second Amendment. You can get the details on what exactly the city is doing by reading Jacob Sullum’s article over at Reason.

Dick Heller has filed another lawsuit against the city over the restrictions after recently being denied a handgun permit.

Bob has released a statement praising Heller: “Dick Anthony Heller and others like him deserve our gratitude, since they are fighting for all Americans. The Supreme Court decision in Heller is a major step forward, but we must continue to be ever vigilant in the face of persistent attacks on our rights. We must to continue to fight to ensure that governments at all levels respect our constitutional right to own firearms.”