Democrats move to mainstream on gun control

Today's Boston Globe has an article which suggests that Democratic Party is moving toward a more mainstream view on the issue of gun control. For too long, Democrats have been losing elections in the South, Great Plains and the West over issues like gun control. Many gun owners believe that Democrats want to take away their guns or force them to lock all guns in a safe where they will do no good. Urban Democrats often advocate gun control as a means of dealing with violent street crime. Gun control will not solve the problem of violent crime. The solution is more mandatory sentences for criminals who use guns and preventing the root causes of crime - poverty, moral decay and drug abuse. The right to keep and bear arms simply gives law-abiding citizens the ability to defend themselves.
Paul Hackett, a candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio (and National Rifle Association member) quoted in the Boston Globe stated that pro-gun rights individuals ''are depicted by some in our party as a bunch of yahoos, and we're not." Hackett, a former Marine who is the proud owner of 20 firearms pointed that as a party "our lack of understanding of gun sports is harming us." Hackett is not the only prominent Democrat taking a pro-Second Amendment stance. Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana who describes his stance on gun regulation as "you control your gun, and I'll control mine." Governor Schweitzer has compiled a solidly pro-gun record in office and is rated "A" by the NRA.
There are also indications that the NRA is responding favorably to the increasingly pro-gun stance of some Democrats. The Globe article quotes NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam who acknowledged that while his organization primarily endorses Republican candidates, "we've seen in the last few years an increasing number of Democrats actively seeking the NRA endorsement and actually winning it." Democratic politicians are recognizing that gun owners make up a powerful voting block and it is better to have these folks on their side than working against them. And furthermore defending the Second Amendment is the right thing to do. Let's hope that the Democratic Party continues to move in a pro-gun rights direction.
Link to Boston Globe article http://tinyurl.com/aw5sz