The presidential election of 2004 may be just as close as the presidential election of 2000. Once again, the outcome could be determined by a handful of votes in a single state.
Yet, the stakes in this election are enormous. While the vote margin between President Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry may turn out to be small, the differences in where they intend to take the country are vast.
Kerry is the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate. But he has labored in this campaign-and especially at the Democratic National Convention in Boston-to hide his true beliefs and obscure his record.
In "The Case Against Kerry," HUMAN EVENTS sets the record straight, unmasking the plain truth of what John Kerry has done in two decades in the U.S. Senate.
Click here to get the complete special report for FREE.
Eleven years ago, in an unguarded moment on CNN, John Kerry revealed his true attitude toward the 2nd Amendment right of law abiding Americans to keep and bear arms.
"Sen. Kerry," asked host Frank Sesno, "how about a big tax on guns if you're not going to go along with a big tax on bullets."
"Well, personally, I would support a big tax on bullets," said Kerry. "There is no reason in the world for these particular, these dum-dum bullets to be sold, they're people-killers...they're not duck-killers, they're not deer killers, they're not used in hunting, they're there to stop a human being."
CNN's Sesno pressed Kerry to see if he was talking about taxing anything other than just so-called "dum dum" bullets. "How about regular bullets?" asked Sesno.
"I think you ought to tax all ammunition more, personally," said Kerry. "I think you ought to tax guns."
This summer, touring Wisconsin in a bid to shore up his poor support in rural areas, Kerry was singing a different tune. "I am a hunter," he told the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel for a story printed on the 4th of July. I have "conser-vative values," he said. He then went to the Gunslick Trap Club in Holmen, Wis., where he bought a $20 membership and shot clay pigeons with Rep. Ron Kind (D.-Wis.).
This, it must be noted, was after Kerry had wrapped up the Democratic nomination. Last year, when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was still the Democratic frontrunner, Kerry attacked Dean for having opposed gun control laws in Vermont. "We don't need to be a party that says we need to be the candidacy of the NRA. We stand up against that," Kerry was quoted in the Des Moines Register on Nov. 1, 2003. "I've fought the NRA from Day One and I've been on their list since Day One. Howard Dean needs to square his support from the NRA with his current position."
Speaking of the National Rifle Association, it says Kerry has cast 59 votes in the Senate on issues relating to firearms and hunting since he was first elected in 1984. On only four of those occasions did he vote for the gun-rights position, said NRA. "His voting record makes John F. Kerry the most anti-gun presidential nominee in United States history," concluded the NRA analysis.
Al Gore is moderate by comparison. "Kerry has a much more anti-gun record than 2000 Democrat presidential candidate, Al Gore Jr., who cast votes on 12 key issues before becoming part of the most anti-gun administration in history," said the NRA. "Gore voted to protect 2nd Amendment rights five times on votes related to passage of the Firearms Owners' Protection Act and once to stop a semi-auto ban. Kerry opposes gun owners in each instance."
|
PROPOSAL
|
VOTE
|
| Feinstein Semi-Auto Ban | FOR:Voted Yes (and cosponsored) on S 1805, Vote #24, 3/2/04. |
| Private Sale of Guns at Gun Shows | AGAINST:Voted Yes on final version, S 254 Vote #134, 5/20/99, Voted Yes on McCain Amendment to S 1805, Vote #25, 3/2/04. |
| Federal Praise for Anti Gun Million-Mom March | FOR:Voted Yes on Daschle Amendment 3148, Vote #104, 5/17/00. |
| Banning Firearms for Citizens Under 18 | FOR:Voted Yes on S 254 Senate Roll Call 140, 5/20/99, Voted Yes on Hatch-Craig Amendment to S 254, Vote #118, 5/14/99. |
| Federal Firearm Registration | FOR:Voted No on Smith Amendment to S 2260, Vote #217, 7/21/98. |
| Brady Bill, S. 466 | FOR:Voted Yes on HR 1025, Vote #394, 11/20/93, Co-Sponsored S 466, the Senate version of the original "Brady Bill," Introduced in the U.S. Senate, 2/24/93. |
| Federal Prohibition of Concealed Weapons Permits for Self-Defense | FOR:Supported S 707, Introduced to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, May 6, 1997. |
"I am a hunter. I am a fisherman. I am a person of faith."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
July 4, 2004
"Handguns pose an increasing danger to the safety and welfare of the American public."
collected by the National Rifle Association,
Sept. 23, 1988, and June 23, 1987.
"I think you ought to tax all ammunition more, personally. I think you ought to tax guns."
CNN's "Late Edition,"
Nov. 7, 1993
"It is certainly true that many criminals do not obtain handguns through legal means; thus waiting periods do nothing to prevent them from getting guns."
collected by the National Rifle Association,
July 19, 1993
"I think the Brady Ban is reasonable, the assault weapons ban is reasonable. It's reasonable to have some waiting period [on gun purchases]. I'm not for [gun] registration. I've never been for gun registration."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
July 4, 2004
"Former Chief Justice Warren Burger??¢â???¬ ¦voiced the opinion that 'The notion that registering gun purchases somehow violates the Constitution is unmitigated nonsense.' I concur with Chief Justice Burger and will continue to endorse the Brady Bill."
collected by the National Rifle Association,
July 19, 1993
"The NRA should not be allowed to hold the rest of America hostage to their extreme viewpoints on gun control. You can be sure that as long as I have the support of people like you behind me, I'll keep fighting to make sure they don't."
collected by the National Rifle Association,
Nov. 1995
"If it is true that 'people kill people,' it is certainly the case that they most frequently do so with handguns."
June 23, 1987
"We don't need to be a party that says we need to be the candidacy of the NRA. We stand up against that....I've fought the NRA from Day One and I've been on their list since Day One. Howard Dean needs to square his support from the NRA with his current position."
The Des Moines Register,
Nov. 1, 2003
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