John Kerry's guns

The Democrats know that they alienate many of their potential voters when they emphasize gun control, or tout bills that sound like general gun bans. The modern campaign strategy is to skirt these topics if possible, and to use pro-hunting rhetoric when out in the boondocks. This is something that Howard Dean could have pulled off rather well. As governor, Dean presided over a state with few gun restrictions, low crime and a strong hunting reputation. John Kerry on the other hand is managing to look ridiculous trying to don the hunting mantle with two decades of anti-gun Senate work to his credit.

Take Kerry's visit to Wisconsin in July, when he was asked what kind of hunting he preferred. As quoted by Mark Steyn:

I'd have to say deer. I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel, crawl around on my stomach... That's hunting.

Except that most Wisconsin hunters agree that no, that's not hunting. Not for deer anyway. The idea of low-crawling for deer is absurd.

Kerry put on his hunting act in Racine, West Virginia as well. Showing what a sporting type he is, he accepted as a gift a Remington 11-87 semi-automatic shotgun. What tripped Kerry up was the fact that he had co-sponsored legislation (S. 1431) that would have banned the very weapon that he was admiring there for his supporters.

More recently, the sunset of 1994's assault-weapons ban brought the opportunty for Kerry to bash Bush over the head with what he figured to be a guns, crime and terrorism issue:

"Every law enforcement officer in America doesn't want us selling assault weapons in the streets of America," Kerry said. "But George Bush, he says, 'Well, I'm for that.'"

I must have missed the chain of streetside gun kiosks that dotted the landscape in the early nineties. Having made his attack on Dubya, Kerry ties together his supposed hunting bona fides and the assault-weapons issue:

"I've handled all different kinds of guns and I've gone out and I've shot - I've shot birds and deer and you name it," Kerry said last night during a rally in Allentown, Pa. "And I believe in the Second Amendment. But I'll tell you this - I have never thought about going hunting with an assault weapon, with a weapon of war."

Among other points, this quote backs up Salvius' contention that much of the posturing over these guns exploits ambiguity over what guns are actually being talked about. No, people do not go out hunting with "weapons of war," i.e. AK-47s, M-16s and so forth, but these are not what the assault-weapons bill was about. Those weapons of war are military issue, fully automatic battlefield weapons, which have been heavily taxed and regulated in this country since 1934. The assault-weapons ban of 1994 concerned semi-automatic weapons, many of which have been and are still used by hunters and other sportsmen (e.g. target shooters).

So at best Kerry is peddling caricatures and non-sequiturs. But then he goes and gives an interview for the October issue of Outdoor Life. Put on the hunting garb, Mr. Candidate!

Outdoor Life: Are you a gun owner? If so, what is your favorite gun?
Kerry: My favorite gun is the M-16 that saved my life and that of my crew in Vietnam. I don’t own one of those now, but one of my reminders of my service is a Communist Chinese assault rifle.

Got that? Even though Kerry, by his own words, would never think about going hunting with an assault weapon, and even though he voted for legislation that prevented his fellow citizens from owning such a gun, Kerry will boast about owning an assault rifle to Outdoor Life magazine.

Wait - it gets better. Because the natural next questions are, "What model assault weapon are you talking about? How did you obtain it?" The New York Times actually showed a glimmer of curiosity and asked the Kerry campaign about this:

Mr. Kerry's campaign would not say what model rifle Mr. Kerry was referring to, where he got it and when, or how many guns he owned. A spokesman for the senator, Michael Meehan, said Mr. Kerry was a registered gun owner in Massachusetts. On Thursday morning, Mr. Meehan said he had not been able to ask Mr. Kerry about the rifle because of Mr. Kerry's hoarse voice; he did not respond to further inquiries.

Say, Mr. Meehan? Could you maybe have the poor, mute Senator write the answer down on a scrap of paper then instead?