Front Sight, Press

I like Mike Huckabee. He’s a guy I could see myself shooting a pistol match with and having a lot of fun. As a political observer, I’m not at all certain about his chances of becoming president, but he really hits the right notes on gun rights.

Gov. Mike Huckabee said that he would support legislation in Arkansas for a law like one passed in Florida last year to protect citizens who use deadly force in self-defense against criminal prosecution and civil liability. Huckabee told a caller to his monthly radio show that he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and believes “there is an absolute right that people have to protect themselves and even their property.”

During the show, a caller asked the governor what he thought of Florida’s so-called “Castle Doctrine.” Passed last year, the law states that any person has the right to “stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm.” The name of the law is drawn from the adage that a man’s home is his castle. “Personally, I think it’s the way it ought to be,” Huckabee said. “We ought to have the right to protect ourselves.”

Source: Rob Moritz, Arkansas News Bureau Jan 5, 2006 

To Gun Owners of America, Huckabee answered “yes” to the following questions:

Oppose reauthorization of of the 1994 semi-auto ban?

Oppose background checks on private firearms transactions at gun shows?

Oppose expansion the unconstitutional Brady law, as found in HR 297, introduced in 2007?

Oppose legislation requiring firearms intended for self-protection to be locked up when they are not in use?

Oppose a ban or further restrictions on .50 caliber firearms?

Oppose a waiting period for the purchase of a firearm?

Oppose a ban on any type of ammunition?

Support a repeal of the Washington, D.C., gun ban?

Support a repeal of the requirement that trigger locks be sold with every retail firearm?

Support recognition among the states to allow a person who has the right to carry a concealed weapon in his or her home state to have the right to carry in other states?

Will you Repeal the Executive Order banning the importation of certain semi-automatic rifles?

Will you nominate judges who interpret the Constitution as the Founders intended, rather than as a “living document” that reflects current political fads and opinion?

Will you issue an Executive Order directing that carrying weapons in national forests and parks be governed by local laws?  Source

On “gun free zones” Huckabee said:

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, says a concealed handgun carried by a faculty member or student at Virginia Tech might have reduced the toll from Monday’s shooting spree by a student.

“If somebody had been able to stop the shooter before he was able to kill that many people, there may not have been that many,” Huckabee said Thursday in an interview with University of Arkansas at Little Rock radio station KUAR. Source

The candidate in his own words from the Mike Huckabee Exploratory Committee on 2nd Amendment Rights:

• The Second Amendment is primarily about tyranny and self-defense, not hunting.  The Founding Fathers wanted us to beable to defend ourselves from our own government, if need be, and  from all threats to our lives and property.
• Second Amendment rights belong to individuals, not cities or states.  I oppose gun control based on geography. 
• I consistently opposed banning assault weapons and opposed the Brady Bill. 
• As Governor, I protected gun manufacturers from frivolous law suits.
• I was the first Governor in the country to have a concealed handgun license.

No candidate has a stronger, more consistent record on Second Amendment rights than I do. Our Founding Fathers, having endured the tyranny of the British Empire, wanted to guarantee our God-given liberties. They devised our three branches of government and our system of checks and balances. But they were still concerned that the system could fail, and that we might someday face a new tyranny from our own government. They wanted us to be able to defend ourselves, and that’s why they gave us the Second Amendment. They knew that a government facing an armed populace was less likely to take away our rights, while a disarmed population wouldn’t have much hope. As Ronald Reagan reminded us, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” Without our Second Amendment rights, all of our other rights aren’t inalienable, they’re just “on loan” from the government.

Other candidates say gun control doesn’t affect hunting. Now I’m a very avid hunter, but the Second Amendment isn’t really about hunting. It’s about tyranny and self-defense. The Founding Fathers weren’t worried about our being able to bag a duck or a deer, they were worried about our keeping our fundamental freedoms.

I once saw a bumper sticker that said, “Criminals prefer unarmed victims.” Criminals will always find a way to get guns. By disarming our law-abiding citizens, we take away the strongest deterrent to violent criminals – the uncertainty that they don’t know who is helpless and who is armed. Our law enforcement officials can’t be everywhere, all the time. Lawfully-armed citizens back them up and prevent robberies, rapes, and the murder of innocents. Right after Katrina, with law enforcement non-existent, many victims were able to protect their lives, their homes, and their precious supplies of food and water only because they were armed.

Other candidates believe gun control should be determined geographically, but Second Amendment rights belong to individuals, not cities or states. Your Second Amendment rights don’t change when you change your address.

Other candidates filed frivolous law suits against gun manufacturers. When I was Governor, I protected gun manufacturers from exactly those types of suits. I allowed former law enforcement officials to carry concealed handguns and removed restrictions on concealed handgun permit holders. I was the first Governor in the country to have a concealed handgun license, and of course I’m a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.

Other candidates have supported banning assault weapons. When the federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004, I said, “May it rest in peace.” It won’t be returning in the Huckabee Administration.

Zealously protecting your Second Amendment rights is another way that I will lift all law-abiding Americans up, by consistently championing your right to defend yourself.  Source

On gun rights, Huckabee is among the three best candidates on the Republican side, the other two being Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter. I wish all three of them were doing better in the polls. We need more of Huckabee’s perspective in the national debate, whether he becomes president or not.