Alphecca

Richardson First Pro-Gun Candidate

Readers from New Mexico can correct me if I'm wrong but there might finally be a candidate running for the Democratic nomination who I could support if the issue is gun rights. First, from Yahoo News:

Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., took the first step Sunday toward an expected White House run in 2008, a high-profile state chief who promoted his extensive experience in Washington and the world stage as he seeks to become the first Hispanic president.

"What this country needs is bipartisanship and to bring back civility" in government, Richardson told The Associated Press. "I've had Cabinet experience. I've been U.N. ambassador. I've actually done what a lot of candidates give speeches on."

The gun rights group - traditionally not a left-wing organization, to answer the question - lent its endorsement Monday to Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat.

For governor.

[...]

The NRA endorsement, announced Monday at a West Mesa shooting range where hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the world took part in an NRA-sponsored shooting championship, wasn't the first time Richardson has garnered the group's backing.

"He's been a pretty solid guy on the gun issue," Van Horn, a member of the NRA's board of directors, said.

Whether that record could woo pro-Second Amendment voters into the Democratic fold in a national election is another question.

"He has treated us first class," said Kayne Robinson, NRA's executive director for general operations. "What the implication of that will be in national politics is beyond my pay grade."

In 2003, Richardson backed and signed a long-debated bill to establish licenses to carry concealed weapons. A similar bill was passed and signed into law in 2001 by then Gov. Gary Johnson. However, that bill was struck down by the state Supreme Court on a technical issue.

In 2005, Richardson successfully worked for a bill to lower the age of eligibility for the licenses. Richardson also has called for tougher penalties against criminals who use guns to commit felonies.

Richardson has a history of campaigning as a pro-gun candidate. During his 1994 congressional campaign, Richardson had a full-page newspaper advertisement in Clovis saying his GOP opponent Greg Bemis favored gun registration -- which Bemis denied.

As a congressman, Richardson was a vocal opponent of gun-control proposals for most his career. In 1994, however, he voted for a crime bill pushed by President Clinton that included a ban on assault rifles.

That vote disappointed the National Rifle Association, which refused to endorse his re-election that year.

However, he has apparently worked his way back into the organization's good graces. On June 30, Richardson received a $1,000 contribution from the NRA Victory Fund.

Richardson has made clear he is personally comfortable with guns. In recent months, he applied for a concealed-carry license -- even though a spokesman said the governor, who at all times is protected by a team of state police officers, doesn't actually intend to carry a gun. He also applied for an elk-hunting permit.

As I've said before, none of the other announced Democratic candidates (or Republican ones for that matter,) pass my "smell test" on gun rights. Richardson sounds like he might. Of course, with all the 600 pound gorillas in the running, he'll have a hard time raising money and getting noticed.

Update: So now Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is in the race, too on the Republican side. I understand he's good on gun rights but he's also just slightly to the right of Genghis Khan on a lot of other issues. He did flip-flop on the "Protection of lawful commerce..." act but voted for it in the end.