Reason magazine: on Gun Control


Bill Weld: 2nd Amendment right s are individual rights

I am a lifelong hunter and gun owner. In 1993, as Governor of Massachusetts, I went along with modest restrictions on firearms. Governing involves tough choices. Today, I would make different choices. Restricting gun rights doesn't make us safer, and threatens our constitutional freedoms. I support the Supreme Court's decision in the District of Columbia vs. Heller -- a decision that embraced the notion that Second Amendment rights are individual rights, not to be abridged by the government.
Source: Reason magazine OpEd by 2016 vice-presidential hopeful May 21, 2016

James Webb: Let military carry guns without official permission

Webb earned high marks from the NRA when he was in the Senate. His most notable comment about firearms this year came after the shootings at two Marine recruitment offices in Chattanooga, when he decried "the policies that exposed our people in so many different places, that don't allow them to defend themselves." Specifically, he'd like members of the military to be allowed to carry guns without official permission.
Source: Reason magazine on 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 13, 2015

Lincoln Chafee: Distrust of government is reason for 2d Amendment advocacy

One of the issues he's been dinged for in the past by libertarians is gun control, but Chafee says he's come to think "the reason there is more advocacy for strong Second Amendment protections is distrust of our government, and that distrust is legitimate." Chafee thinks mistrust of the government makes total sense, and he does "believe the authors of the Second Amendment wrote it with that in mind, and if there is distrust of government we want to have a well-regulated armed militia."
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Jan 6, 2020

Lincoln Chafee: Distrust of government is reason for 2nd Amendment

[On Iraq War]: "The biggest lie in American history," Chafee says, is that "Saddam [Hussein] had weapons of mass destruction and we invaded Iraq, and we are still there and it's getting worse." In the wake of a generation grown up dealing with the effect of that lie, Chafee thinks, mistrust of the government makes total sense, and he does "believe the authors of the Second Amendment wrote it with that in mind, and if there is distrust of government we want to have a well-regulated armed militia."
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Jan 6, 2020

Martin O`Malley: For national firearms registry, expanded background checks

O'Malley: O'Malley is an enthusiastic advocate of new gun controls, calling for a national firearms registry, expanded background checks, more inspections of gun dealers, a fingerprint-based license for gun buyers, an "assault weapon" ban, a federal law preventing anyone under 21 from owning or possessing a gun, and a change to the law that would allow shooting victims to sue firearm manufacturers, among other changes. He also wants to enhance the penalties for illegal gun sales.
Source: Reason magazine on 2016 presidential hopefuls Oct 13, 2015

Richard Blumenthal: Sued gun manufacturers to withdraw gun designs

The Clinton administration pressured Smith & Wesson into accepting gun control in the form of a lawsuit settlement. The S&W deal contemplates withdrawing standard gun designs from the market after enough makers sign on. They counted on S&W's status as the number one gun maker. They figured they could leverage S&W's market share through what amounts to a tying arrangement: If dealers and gun shows wanted to stock the dominant manufacturer's line, they'd have to agree to stop promoting disfavored, competitive product lines. Several of the most combative state attorneys general, including Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal and New York's Eliot Spitzer, announced that they were going to sue the gun industry for not cooperating with S&W. On antitrust grounds, no less. This may be the first antitrust action in history aimed at smaller companies that refused to enter into tying arrangements with the dominant manufacturer in their market.
Source: Walter Olson in Reason Magazine Jun 1, 2000

  • The above quotations are from Columns and news articles in Reason magazine.
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2016 Presidential contenders on Gun Control:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 24, 2023