I happen to disagree but this would be a very boring world if everybody agreed on everything.
I'm sure many politicians regret some of the comments that they made in the past in support of truly draconian gun control. That includes Republicans like John McCain. Many gun owners were unenthusiastic about McCain becoming President and possibly with good reason. McCain has a lifetime C+ rating from the NRA. That's hardly a glowing endorsement.
The NRA is a moderate organization when compared with the GOA (Gun Owners of America). The GOA gives McCain the lowest rating possible.
Gun Owners of AmericaGun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States with over 300,000 members.<1> They make efforts to differentiate themselves from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA), and have publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what the GOA considers to be the selling out of the gun rights movement.
The organization has often been in opposition to the NRA in their respective endorsements and ratings of politicians and candidates.
For instance, the GOA was outspoken in its opposition to John McCain's 2008 presidential bid, describing his gun-rights voting record as "abysmal, wretched, and pathetic"<2> and rating him with an F- on Second Amendment issues since 2004 as opposed to the NRA's (through its PAC, the NRA-PVF) C+ rating of McCain.<3> The GOA took issue with the NRA over the 2007 NICS Improvement Act.<4>...emphasis addedThey have been described by Congressman Ron Paul as "The only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington." This quote from Paul has long been displayed front and center on the homepage of the Gun Owners of America website, and Paul was the only 2008 Presidential candidate to gain an A+ rating from Gun Owners of America.<5>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Owners_of_America In my opinion the last presidential election was not close enough for gun owners to have put McCain into office had he had their enthusiastic support, but it might have been closer.
Mitt Romney may also find getting support from gun owners difficult as he has expressed support for the assault weapon ban and other very restrictive gun laws.
Political positions of Mitt Romney***snip***
Gun controlRomney has said "I support the right of individuals to keep and bear arms as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution,"<45> though in past campaigns he has described himself as a proponent of gun control, and he fully supports a ban on assault weapons.<46>
For Romney's 1994 US Senate campaign, he supported the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on particular semi-automatic rifles.<46> In a 2002 debate during Romney's campaign for governor of Massachusetts, Romney said: "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them. I won't chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."<47> As governor, Romney signed a 2004 measure instituting a permanent Massachusetts ban on military style assault weapons, to take the place of a Federal ban, which was then about to expire. The bill made Massachusetts the first state to enact its own such ban on specific semi-automatic weapons and some shotguns with specific accessories, and Romney supported the law with the comment: "These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."<48> As Governor Romney extended the term of firearm licenses from four to six years, reinstated a 90-day grace period for citizens renewing their gun licenses, and signed a law providing free replacement licenses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#Gun_control Our backgrounds differ. I live in Florida where "shall issue" concealed carry has existed since 1987 and there are currently over 850,000 valid concealed weapons permits issued by the state. Consequently, I know a considerable number of people who have such permits. I understand why a person who lives in an area where very few civilians legally carry weapons would have reservations about the practice. Back in 1987 when "shall issue" concealed carry passed in Florida, I fully suspected that there would be a lot of unnecessary shootings generated by the fact that people were legally packing heat. The predictions of a return to the Wild West with shootouts at every intersection and on Main Street at high noon never materialized. Reality is often boring.
Many of the regular shooters at the pistol range I shot at when I lived in the Tampa Bay area had carry permits and carried on a regular basis. Some were retired police or military but many were just regular citizens from many walks of life. Most carried small very compact handguns for self defense probably because it's hard to conceal a large handgun during the hot temperatures during most of the year.
Only three of the people I knew who had carry permits had used their concealed weapon in self defense.
One worked as a locksmith and a person with a knife attempted to rob him in a bad area of town late at night while he was working. The locksmith drew his compact .22 S&W revolver from its belt holster and the situation ended peacefully without any shots fired.
One of my co-workers was in downtown Tampa on a cold Sunday morning with a friend using metal detectors to search a vacant lot after a building had been torn down. A man who appeared high or drunk and was armed with a large knife walked up, threatened the two individuals and demanded their money. My friend pulled his jacked open and revealed his .45 auto in a shoulder holster and the attacker turned and walked off muttering to himself.
Another co-worker was driving to work on the graveyard shift when he managed to piss off another driver. When they both pulled up to an intersection, the person who was suffering from road rage got out of his car and approached my co-workers car with a tire iron. My co-worker drew his 9mm Star semi-auto pistol and laid it in his hand across his steering wheel where the attacker could see it. He did and he returned to his car and everything ended peacefully. My co-worker told me that he would have merely jumped the red light and drove off had he not had a car in front of him, one beside him and a deep ditch on the passenger's side of his car.
My daughter who has a concealed carry permit attracted the attentions of a stalker and despite a restraining order, this individual persisted in harassing her wherever she went. While he had a criminal record that included violence and drunkenness, the stalker never really attempted to attack my daughter. If he had and my daughter would have felt that he threatened her health or her life, she would have shot him without hesitation. The fact that she was armed meant that she was able to view the stalker as an irritating pain in the ass and was not terrified of him. The stalker was also following one of my daughter's friends who did live in fear of his attacking her. It took a lot of effort to get this lady to get a restraining order as she feared that this might cause him to attack. Eventually the stalker was arrested and had to spend several weekends in jail. The judge threatened him with a year in prison if he continued his activity. He appears to have learned a valuable lesson. My daughter hasn't seen him recently and it is possible that he moved to a different city. I doubt if he ever suspected that my daughter was armed.
Back in the 1920s my mother was walking home from work when he was rushed by an attacker who had been hiding behind some bushes. She drew a .22 caliber S&W LadySmith revolver from her purse and fired two shots over the attacker's head. He ran. My mother was an expert shot and could have easily hit the individual but she felt all is well that ends well. She kept the little revolver as a a cherished item. Of course I found it and played with it. The box it was in contained some ammo and I know that I loaded it. I don't remember ever trying to fire the revolver but if I had, it would not have worked as my father had wisely removed the firing pin. My father opposed firearm ownership and refused to have a working firearm in the house. Interestingly, he had shot handguns in his youth and even carrying one during WWII when he worked as an investigator for Navel Intelligence.
I didn't get a carry license for many years after the law passed and I did so when my of my co-workers suggested that since I legally carried a loaded revolver in my car when I went to work on the graveyard shift, it might make it a lot easier for me if I was pulled over for speeding. Eventually the neighborhood I lived in went downhill to the point that while I didn't feel that I would ever need to use my concealed weapon for self defense, it was a possibility.
Originally, I tried to carry a .45 auto, but it was uncomfortable and a pain in the ass to have to put on a holster when I was only going to a local store. My Colt .45 usually stayed behind. Finally I wised up and decided to buy a very light S&W snub nosed .38 caliber revolver which is designed to be a pocket pistol. On my way out the door, I grab this little revolver and its pocket holster, slide both into my pants pocket and I am off. It's so light that I hardly realize that I have it with me.
I doubt if I ever will have a reason to use it and hope that I never will, but if I do it's right there in my pocket. The first rule of a gun fight is to have a gun.
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