Front Sight, Press

John Edwards on Gun Control

Democratic Nominee for Vice President; NC Jr. Senator

On the matter of gun control, I get a bad “wolf in sheep’s clothing” feeling with Edwards. On the stump he creates the impression of a southern boy and a friend of gun owners, but his voting record and political associations seem to point in a very different direction.

From Chris Cox at the NRA-ILA:

“…Consider in particular the Senate debate over S. 659 (S. 1805), legislation to block the baseless lawsuits that are designed to bankrupt the gun industry.

On March 2, 2004, when John Kerry staked his campaign on a high-profile appearance in the Senate to sabotage S. 659 at every opportunity, Edwards was making himself rather somewhat scarce. He surfaced only to vote in favor of continuing the Clinton gun ban and in favor of the amendment to ban gun shows. On all other recorded votes during the day, including the vote on final passage of the bill, Edwards was nowhere to be seen. Was Edwards unwilling to offend his fat-cat base of trial lawyers, or did he simply prefer not to cast votes that might undercut the credibility of his down-home country boy routine?

Most likely both factors were in play. We have to look earlier in his record to see his true leanings on the issues, before he began to apply the filter of his national aspirations to his true positions on the issues. What we see helps explain why North Carolina voters are unwilling to give Edwards majority support.

In the early years of his Senate career, Edwards voted to “commend” the Million Mom March, to end private sales at gun shows, and to maintain long-term federal registration of gun buyer records. He voted for national registration of all gun show vendors, and voted to ban importation of ammunition magazines. There wasn`t much in the way of gun control legislation that Edwards didn`t support…

… In all, Edwards voted against gun owners–or didn’t show up to vote at all–83% of the time. This is an anti-gun record by any estimation…” – Chris Cox, NRA-ILA

John Edwards has some interesting connections to the American Hunters & Shooters Association, a gun control organization that masquerades as a gun rights group. The AHSA website was licensed and set up by DCS Congressional, a political consulting operation that caters to far-left candidates and causes. Gerry Kavanaugh, president of DCS was an advisor to the Edwards for President campaign in 2004. Founding principle of DCS, David Bonior, is currently Edwards’ campaign manager. When he was in the House of Representatives, Bonior was one of the most consistent votes for gun control in the house. While these connections do not prove that Edwards agrees with all positions of the deceptive AHSA and DCS, these close ties are at best extremely troubling, and for me raise questions about Mr. Edwards’ ethics.

Positions:

Right to bear arms protected by Second Amendment, with rules

“I believe the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment. I also support reasonable measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, including closing the gun show loophole and vigorously enforcing gun laws.” Source: 2004 Presidential National Political Awareness Test Mar 3, 2004

Hunting is fine, but criminals & kids should have limits

Q: How will your gun stance play among Southern voters?

EDWARDS: I grew up in the rural South. Everyone around me hunted, everyone had guns. I respect and believe in people’s Second Amendment rights. That does not, however, mean that somebody needs an AK-47 to hunt. It does not mean that somebody who’s been convicted of a violent crime should be able to walk out of prison, walk across the street and buy a gun. It does not mean that we shouldn’t take every step that we can take to keep guns safe and keep guns out of the hands of kids. So, my belief is, first, I defend people’s Second Amendment rights, but I don’t think it’s without limit.

Q: What federal gun control measures you would propose?

EDWARDS: I think we should extend the Brady Bill, which is set to expire. I think that we need to close forever the gun-show loophole, [to avoid criminals] buying a gun. I think it does make sense to have trigger locks for the purpose of keeping guns safe from children. Source: Democratic 2004 Primary Debate at St. Anselm College Jan 22, 2004

Voted YES on background checks at gun shows.
Require background checks on all firearm sales at gun shows. Reference: Lautenberg Amdt #362; Bill S. 254 ; vote number 1999-134 on May 20, 1999

Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations.
The Hatch amdt would increase mandatory penalties for the illegal transfer or use of firearms, fund additional drug case prosecutors, and require background check on purchasers at gun shows. [A YES vote supports stricter penalties]. Reference: Hatch Amendment #344; Bill S. 254 ; vote number 1999-118 on May 14, 1999

Voted NO on loosening license & background checks at gun shows.
Vote to table or kill a motion to require that all gun sales at gun shows be completed by federally licensed gun dealers. Also requires background checks to be completed on buyers and requires gun show promoters to register with the Treasury. Bill S.254 ; vote number 1999-111 on May 11, 1999

Finally, the willingness of Edwards to sign onto the Kerry ticket in 2004 may represent a fatal contamination for Edwards in respect to gun rights. John Kerry has one of the very worst voting records on gun rights in the Senate. I don’t see how someone with deeply held convictions in favor of gun rights could agree to be John Kerry’s running mate.