State of Alaska Archives: on Gun Control
Al Gross:
Opposes assault weapons ban
Q: Enact more restrictive gun laws?Al Gross: No. Is pro-gun rights. Opposes assault weapons ban.
Dan Sullivan: No. "Instead of infringing on Americans' constitutional rights, we can work harder to enforce existing laws and keep guns out of the hands of those with mental illness."
Source: CampusElect on 2020 Alaska Senate race
Oct 10, 2020
Bill Walker:
2nd Amendment establishes an individual right
The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the corresponding provision of the State Constitution, establish an individual right.
I will work tirelessly to protect and preserve the right of Alaskans to keep and bear arms.
Source: 2014 Governor campaign website, WalkerMallottForAlaska.com
Nov 4, 2014
Billy Toien:
Against confiscation of a potential victim's firearms
Q: What would you do to reduce high rates of sexual assault and domestic violence in Alaska?TOIEN: Education (how to leave safely), economic freedom, and self defense empowerment are key. The only 3 things
I can see the governors role in are, allowing the economic environment to improve, ending the drug war, and not allowing the confiscation of a potential victims firearms because a perp called in a "concern." Predators prefer disarmed prey.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Gubernatorial race
Oct 25, 2018
Billy Toien:
Reduce gun violence with un-infringed right of self defense
Q: How should the state reduce the threat of gun violence and mass shootings?
Toien: An un-infringed right of self defense. Also, we must cease and desist the drugging of our children.
Source: Anchorage Press on 2022 Alaska Gubernatorial race
Aug 3, 2022
Charlie Huggins:
Strong backer of Alaskan's Second Amendment rights
Continuing his commitment to fight for and defend Alaskans' Second Amendment rights, Governor Sean Parnell today signed several firearm and self-defense bills into law. The governor was joined by numerous legislators, including
House Speaker Mike Chenault and Senate President Charlie Huggins, and Brian Judy of the National Rifle Association as he signed the package of bills in support of Alaskans' Second Amendment rights.
Source: NRA-ILA Institute on 2018 Alaska gubernatorial race
Aug 15, 2014
Christopher Kurka:
Blaming crime on guns is like blaming arson on matches
Oppressive gun laws often end up only producing more crime. I think that blaming crime on guns is like blaming arson on matches. I'm a firm believer in the individual right to keep and bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment to our United
States Constitution. I also believe the right to defend yourself from evil-doers is the foundation of a free society. I'll stand up to the gun-grabbers and vehemently oppose any new gun-control schemes coming from our out-of-control Feds.
I will eagerly support and sign legislation like a Carry on Campus bill. This kind of legislation would allow law-abiding Alaskan students to carry a handgun on campus to protect themselves.
We Alaskans are a tough breed and I know that you, like me, value your right to carry in order to protect ourselves and our families--one of our most basic human rights.
Source: 2022 Alaska Gubernatorial campaign website ChrisKurka.com
Feb 23, 2022
Dan Sullivan:
Prohibit state and local governments from denying gun rights
Governor Sean Parnell today praised the U.S. Supreme Court for its ruling that the Second Amendment of the Constitution confers an individual right to firearm possession even outside of the federal enclave of Washington, D.C.In the case of McDonald v.
Chicago, the high court ruled for the first time that the right to bear arms applies to all Americans. The ruling expands upon last year's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.
The State of Alaska was among the states that asked for Supreme
Court review of McDonald and that signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of handgun owners in Chicago and the suburb of Oak Park. Alaska was likewise involved in Heller.
"It is through the right to bear arms that our other
rights are secured," said Governor Parnell.
"Today's landmark ruling prohibits state and local governments from denying Americans their right to bear arms, which is an issue close to the heart of Alaskans," said Attorney General Dan Sullivan.
Source: Press release from Alaska Governor's office, "Supreme Court"
Jun 28, 2010
Dan Sullivan:
Opposed rule reporting impaired people for background checks
Sullivan voted to rescind an Obama administration rule that requires the Social Security Administration to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System anyone who receives benefits for certain disabilities, "The
Obama administration's rule unlawfully strips away Second Amendment rights, without due process, from law-abiding citizens," Senator Sullivan said. "We cannot deny constitutional rights to law-abiding Americans with disabilities."
Source: Alaska Senate press release on sullivan.senate.gov for 2020
Feb 15, 2017
Joe Miller:
Yes, concealed carry; no assault rifle ban
Q: Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? A: Yes; I support restrictions on firearms based on minimum age and violent criminal background.
Q: Do you believe that the Second
Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support a ban on assault rifles?
A: No.
Source: Alaska Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
Sep 9, 2010
Joe Miller:
Opposes more gun restrictions
Question topic: More restrictive gun control laws are needed now to protect public safety.
Miller: Strongly Disagree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Alaska Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Kelly Tshibaka:
She will fight to preserve the 2nd Amendment
She will be a strong voice in opposition to illegal immigration and will fight to preserve the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
She will be an advocate for the military, coming from a family which has fought in major American conflicts from the Vietnam War to the Revolutionary War. Tshibaka is unapologetically pro-life.
Source: 2022 Alaska Senate campaign website KellyForAK.com
Mar 29, 2021
Mary Peltola:
I own guns, but we can take common sense action
Guns are a part of Alaska's culture and a core tool of a subsistence lifestyle. I grew up hunting, my husband is a big game hunting advocate and I will continue to own guns and support the right of Alaskans to own guns. We can take common sense action,
and we must. Provisions like secure storage laws, reasonable waiting periods and universal background checks can make all of us safer while still preserving the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska House incumbent
May 2, 2022
Mead Treadwell:
Law-abiding citizens have the right to keep and bear arms
The Second Amendment protects our right to self-defense. Law-abiding citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, plain and simple. I will defend the right for Alaskans to defend their families and their homes.
The U.S. Senate Majority today is working to erode our Second Amendment rights and Mark Begich supports their leadership. I will oppose all efforts to water down the Second Amendment.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website, TreadwellAlaska.com, "Issues"
Oct 9, 2013
Mead Treadwell:
Address school shootings with national mental health push
My earliest memory of Sandy Hook Elementary School was arriving there 50 years ago as a transfer student in the second grade. The tragic, shocking news from Newtown reached me in Alaska last December, as my Mom--who had been a volunteer librarian there--
had just arrived for Christmas.I link Newtown to the challenge of suicide we face in Alaska, where communities and caregivers are coming together to fight an epidemic of the worst young suicide rates in the nation. It is an epidemic that has taken
thousands of lives and too often, other innocents with them.
Let us strive together to find help for those people who are detached from our community. Mental health professionals tell us that many people contemplate suicide, that it is often rooted in
trauma and depression.
We need a national, community-based approach to push for widespread mental health first aid training, so people can recognize and respond to trauma and depression before it turns to despair, self-destruction, murder and suicide.
Source: Mead Treadwell in Alaska Dispatch: 2014 Alaska Senate race
Dec 13, 2013
Mike Chenault:
Backs new law that allows concealed weapons across state
A new anti-gun-control law in Alaska will allow handgun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit--even in the 7 cities where permits are now required. Chenault said a law-abiding citizen should be able to carry a firearm wherever he wants to,
but in Alaska, that citizen may be breaking the law and not even know it. "You could leave home with a gun in your vehicle and find yourself in conflict with laws in other municipalities just by driving through those municipalities," he said.
Source: Daily Herald-Extra on 2018 Alaska Gubernatorial race
Jun 29, 2016
Mike Dunleavy:
Sponsored bill to allow concealed guns on campuses
A bill currently pending in Juneau would eliminate the university system's ability to prohibit concealed guns on college campuses statewide. Supporters of Senate Bill 174--who include sponsors
Sen. Mike Dunleavy and Sen. Bill Stoltze of the Mat-Su Valley--say the measure will make campuses safer by allowing armed people to protect themselves and others with firearms.
Source: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman on SB174 Alaska Voting Records
Mar 17, 2016
Ray Metcalfe:
Supports concealed carry; focus on criminals and kids
Metcalfe supports the following principles regarding gun issues:- Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
-
Metcalfe adds, "We need to spend less time worrying about responsible adults and more time worrying about guns in the hands of children, criminals and adults with restraining orders."
Source: Alaska Congressional 2002 National Political Awareness Test
Nov 1, 2002
Sarah Palin:
Supports ending D.C.'s 32-year-old ban on handguns
Governor Sarah Palin today lauded the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision upholding the right of Americans to own guns for self-defense, hunting and other purposes. The high court's 5-4 ruling in District of Columbia vs.
Heller affirmed gun rights by striking down the District's 32-year-old ban on handguns."This decision is a victory for all Alaskans and individual Americans.
The right to own guns and use them responsibly is something I and many other Alaskans cherish," Governor Palin said. "I applaud the Court for standing up for the Constitution and the right of Americans to keep and bear arms."
The state of
Alaska in February joined a multi-state amicus brief written by the state of Texas in support of the Second Amendment right of individual Americans to bear arms.
Source: Alaska Governor's Office: press release, "2nd Amendment"
Jun 26, 2008
Sarah Palin:
Lifelong NRA member & champion of right to bear arms
Governor Sarah Palin announced the State of Alaska will join the multi-state amicus brief authored by the State of Texas in support of the Second Amendment right of individual Americans to bear arms. The Texas amicus brief in the case
Washington, D.C. v. Heller will be filed by February 11, 2008.Governor Palin, a lifelong member of the National Rifle
Association, has long been a champion of the constitutional right to bear arms, as well as a proponent of gun safety programs for Alaska's youth.
"I am proud to join the State of Texas in support of the Second Amendment,"
Governor Palin said. "We need to send a strong message that law-abiding citizens have a right to own firearms, for personal protection, for hunting and for any other lawful purpose."
Source: Alaska Governor's Office: press release, "2nd Amendment"
Feb 8, 2008
Sean Randall Parnell:
Strong backer of Alaskan's Second Amendment rights
Continuing his commitment to fight for and defend Alaskans' Second Amendment rights, Governor Sean Parnell today signed several firearm and self-defense bills into law. The governor was joined by numerous legislators, including
House Speaker Mike Chenault and Senate President Charlie Huggins, and Brian Judy of the National Rifle Association as he signed the package of bills in support of Alaskans' Second Amendment rights.
Source: NRA-ILA Institute on 2018 Alaska gubernatorial race
Aug 15, 2014
Pat Chesbro:
Curb the epidemic of gun violence in America
I support policies that will curb the epidemic of gun violence in
America and the research needed to understand and address this problem.
Source: 2022 Alaska Senate campaign website ChesbroForAlaska.com
Oct 7, 2022
Pat Chesbro:
Close loopholes for background checks, limit assault weapons
Pat Chesbro, whose daughter was shot to death with a handgun, called for increased gun control measures and
said arming teachers--a solution proposed by some Republicans--would not solve the problem. Chesbro said she supports closing loopholes in existing background check laws and limiting assault weapon purchases.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race
May 29, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023