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Carly Fiorina on Gun ControlRepublican primary challenger and former CEO |
Fiorina dismissed Boxer's recent focus on gun control--including Fiorina's opposition to the 1994 assault weapons ban--as a "desperate attempt" to distract voters from the real issues that concern them, including the dismal economy and need for job creation. Fiorina sidestepped a question about her support for allowing people on the federal government's no-fly list to purchase firearms. "Barbara Boxer knows perfectly well the difference between the terrorist watch list and the no-fly list, and if she doesn't know the difference, then that's really a problem," Fiorina said. "It was Boxer who voted to give constitutional rights to terrorists. Boxer's record on national security is fairly weak."
Fiorina said they should: "The no-fly list has been, unfortunately, way too large, and I know people who have been on it who have been stopped and if we permit anyone who is on that no-fly list to have their 2nd Amendment rights taken away from them, that's a terrible problem," she said.
During a subsequent debate with Boxer in September in Moraga, Fiorina asserted that her sister-in-law, a friend's husband and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts had all been on the no-fly list, which she added "isn't particularly well managed."
But Fiorina was mistaken at least in part, according to a TSA myth-fact document: Kennedy was never on the no-fly list--but his name closely matched that of someone on the watch list.
Boxer countered that such bans have kept people safe. "To go back to that dangerous yesterday makes no sense," she said. "It has bipartisan support."
A: Well, it might be if the no-fly list was better managed. But the truth is Ted Kennedy was on the no-fly list. A 7- year-old boy was on the no-fly list. My wonderful sister-in-law was on the no-fly list.
A: But there are also some bad guys on the no-fly list. Don't you want to prevent them from getting guns?
A: Well, sure, if we really knew who the bad guys were, and those were the only people on the no-fly list, but the truth is the no-fly list, by the government's own admission, is far too broad. So why should a law-abiding US citizen who has the right to bear arms be prevented from doing so because of government incompetence? This is what people are crazed over. We have a government getting bigger and bigger, taxes getting higher and higher, but we don't see improving competence. We see deteriorating competence.
The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.
The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Further restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms"
While widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has, since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world. But our successes would not be possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service our nearly three million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support NRA programs.
The following ratings are based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionaire sent to all Congressional candidates; the NRA assigned a letter grade (with A+ being the highest and F being the lowest).