If the Romney/Ryan ticket wins the White House, gun owners will have one friend there. Paul Ryan has a strong history of Second Amendment support, receiving an “A” grade and endorsement from the National Rifle Association since 2002 (the earliest data available online).
On the Issues confirms that Ryan has consistently voted pro-rights. In 1999, Ryan voted to force all gun show buyers to undergo a background check. This appears to be his biggest anti-rights vote. (It didn’t pass.) The NRA gives an “A+” to legislators with an “excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues,” and opposes such legislation.
In 2009, Ryan co-sponsored H.R. 2193, legislation banning the federal government from destroying military shell casings, a major source for remanufactured civilian ammunition. (It didn’t pass.)
As Christian Adams notes, Ryan is also more fiscally conservative. This is important to the Second Amendment, because runaway government spending risks inflation and higher taxes, which can erode discretionary income so that gun owners can’t afford guns, ammunition, and training.
But will Ryan provide influence in the White House?
Mitt Romney has a history of supporting gun control. He supported the Clinton gun ban, and signed a similar bill as governor of Massachusetts. During the 2008 presidential debate in Boca Raton, he said: “I do not support any new legislation of an assault weapon ban nature, including that against semiautomatic weapons.” However, he also said he would support a bill similar to the Massachusetts law “at the federal level.”
Perhaps we need an assault prostitician ban for candidates who shoot multiple policy stances with one triggering of their lips?
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