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Romney's record on guns questioned
Discrepancy surfaces in N.H.
By Scott Helman, Globe Staff | April 5, 2007
Part of Mitt Romney's strategy for appealing to conservative primary voters has been to portray himself as a gun-lover, a strong defender of the Second Amendment and a sportsman himself.
But the more the presidential campaign wears on, the more questionable that portrait looks.
Romney has already been forced to acknowledge, after touting his membership in the National Rifle Association, that he joined the group less than a year ago. And after saying that he had "a gun of my own," he later conceded that he didn't personally own guns, but that one of his sons did.
Now, Romney's campaign is acknowledging that, despite his assertion that he was a longtime hunter, Romney, 60, had in fact hunted one summer as a teenager and then just once when he was in his late 50s.
The most recent discrepancy surfaced during a campaign stop this week in Keene, N.H., where Romney, according to the Associated Press, told a man in an NRA hat that he had long been a hunter.
"I purchased a gun when I was a young man," the AP quoted Romney as saying. "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life."
According to his campaign, Romney spent a summer as a 15-year-old hunting rabbits in Idaho and didn't hunt again until last year, when he attended a quail hunt in Sea Island, Ga., sponsored by the Republican Governors Association. Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney had also gone shooting at other times in Utah.
"Governor Romney knows how to handle a firearm, but the reason he supports the Second Amendment is because he appreciates the Constitution and the rights enshrined in it, including the right to keep and bear arms," Fehrnstrom said by e-mail.
Romney, who has been facing persistent questions from some conservatives over his recent shifts to the right on several key issues, hardened his views on gun control as he prepared to run for president. In his 1994 Senate run, Romney supported two gun-control measures strongly opposed by the NRA: the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on certain assault weapons. When Romney ran for governor in 2002, he expressed support for the state's tough laws. "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them," he said. "I won't chip away at them."
But as he appeals to the conservative wing of the Republican Party, Romney's tone on guns today is notably different. He has celebrated his work as governor to ease restrictions on gun owners and expressed hope that other states would do the same. Earlier this year, he led the media around one of the country's biggest gun shows in Orlando.
Gun control is an important issue to many activists and voters in the Republican Party, particularly in key primary states such as New Hampshire and Michigan.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/romneys_record_on_guns_questioned?mode=PF
Discrepancy surfaces in N.H.
By Scott Helman, Globe Staff | April 5, 2007
Part of Mitt Romney's strategy for appealing to conservative primary voters has been to portray himself as a gun-lover, a strong defender of the Second Amendment and a sportsman himself.
But the more the presidential campaign wears on, the more questionable that portrait looks.
Romney has already been forced to acknowledge, after touting his membership in the National Rifle Association, that he joined the group less than a year ago. And after saying that he had "a gun of my own," he later conceded that he didn't personally own guns, but that one of his sons did.
Now, Romney's campaign is acknowledging that, despite his assertion that he was a longtime hunter, Romney, 60, had in fact hunted one summer as a teenager and then just once when he was in his late 50s.
The most recent discrepancy surfaced during a campaign stop this week in Keene, N.H., where Romney, according to the Associated Press, told a man in an NRA hat that he had long been a hunter.
"I purchased a gun when I was a young man," the AP quoted Romney as saying. "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life."
According to his campaign, Romney spent a summer as a 15-year-old hunting rabbits in Idaho and didn't hunt again until last year, when he attended a quail hunt in Sea Island, Ga., sponsored by the Republican Governors Association. Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney had also gone shooting at other times in Utah.
"Governor Romney knows how to handle a firearm, but the reason he supports the Second Amendment is because he appreciates the Constitution and the rights enshrined in it, including the right to keep and bear arms," Fehrnstrom said by e-mail.
Romney, who has been facing persistent questions from some conservatives over his recent shifts to the right on several key issues, hardened his views on gun control as he prepared to run for president. In his 1994 Senate run, Romney supported two gun-control measures strongly opposed by the NRA: the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on certain assault weapons. When Romney ran for governor in 2002, he expressed support for the state's tough laws. "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them," he said. "I won't chip away at them."
But as he appeals to the conservative wing of the Republican Party, Romney's tone on guns today is notably different. He has celebrated his work as governor to ease restrictions on gun owners and expressed hope that other states would do the same. Earlier this year, he led the media around one of the country's biggest gun shows in Orlando.
Gun control is an important issue to many activists and voters in the Republican Party, particularly in key primary states such as New Hampshire and Michigan.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/romneys_record_on_guns_questioned?mode=PF