Reason #76 not to vote for Sarah Palin for anything

She loves guns waaayyy too much




From Ontheissues.org

Sarah Palin stuck to her guns on guns, in her first major public appearance since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was critically wounded and six people were killed at a Tucson campaign event. Palin was criticized after the shootings for having published campaign literature that marked some Democratic districts, including Giffords's, with crosshairs, but she pushed back, saying Republicans were being unfairly blamed for the act of a crazed shooter.

Asked if she would support efforts to restrict semiautomatic weapons or multi-bullet clips, like the clips used in the Tucson shooting, Palin responded, "There are already on the books many gun control measures and I do support those that are on the books. I do not support taking away more freedom from the good guy. The people who have no intention of using that weapon to harm another person so, no additional gun control measures could be supported." She added, "Prayers should continue for the full recovery of Gabby Giffords and others who were involved."

Source: Associated Press in ABC News, "Palin Rejects New Gun Laws" Feb 17, 2011

Not far from home, near the Talkeetna Mountains, I learned to hunt. Traveling on skis and snowshoes, we harvested ptarmigan and big game. I love meat. I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou. I always remind people from outside our state that there's plenty of room for all Alaska's animals--right next to the mashed potatoes.

In our northern state, with some communities located hundreds of miles from big grocery stores, Alaskans have for generations lived on local, organic protein sources. Anti-hunting groups are clueless about this. It always puzzled me how some of the people who think killing and eating animals in the wild is somehow cruel have no problem buying dead animals at the grocery store, wrapped in cellophane instead of fur.

Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p. 18-19 Nov 17, 2009

The Heath house in Wasilla sat near woodlands of birch, willow, and spruce. The woods were a wilderness playground--the kind of place where kids play out the imaginative adventures of childhood.

In both summer and winter, most of the family's activitie took place outdoors. Sarah said that she appreciates the many outdoor adventures she had as a child. Fitness was a big part of family life. "My parents jumped on the bandwagon of the '70s running craze," she said. The whole family ran together, competing in five- and ten-kilometer races throughout the summer.

When the family wasn't running or hiking, it was hunting or fishing. "We could literally go hunting out our back door," [Sarah's brother] Chuck Jr. said. Sarah shot her first rabbit at age ten not far from the back porch. In her teens, she hunted caribou with her father. The family's freezer was always full of fish and game. Chuck Jr. said he didn't eat a beef steak until he was a senior in high school. Gardening helped fill the family larder.

Source: Hockey Mom, by Kaylene Johnson Sep 9, 2008

Hunts and fishes, as did her father

Her father shot the grizzly bear whose hide is now draped over the sofa in her office. She, too, hunts and fishes. She runs marathons. She delivered her fifth child during her first term as governor. They call her husband, the reigning champion in the annual Iron Dog snowmachine race, First Dude.

Though indisputably Alaskan, she rose to prominence by bucking the state’s rigid Republican hierarchy, impressing voters more with gumption, warmth and charm than an established record in government.

Source: New York Times, pp. A1 & A10, “An Outsider Who Charms” Aug 29, 2008

Hunts as much as she can; freezer-full of wild game
Like many Alaskans, Gov. Sarah Palin is a lifelong hunter and strong proponent of Second Amendment rights. A longtime member of the National Rifle Association, she told USA Today when she was running for governor as a Republican in 2006 that “We hunt as much as we can, and I’m proud to say our freezer is full of wild game we harvested here in Alaska.” Palin’s favorite food? “Moose stew after a day of snowmachining,” she said.

Source: Q&A with Newsweek’s Brian Braiker Aug 29, 2008

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

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

Sarah loves guns so much she spoke at the NRA Convention for free yet took money from religious and pro-life groups. She loves guns more than she loves people.

Are Democrats Still Concerned With Guns... At All-- Even In The Hands Of Terrorists?

Deranged right-wing gun shill and ex-rocker Ted Nugent was on CNN with Piers Morgan the other night to rant and rave about how much he hates President Obama:

"Anybody that wants to disarm me can drop dead. Anybody that wants to make me unarmed and helpless, people that want to literally create the proven places where more innocents are killed called gun-free zones, we're going to beat you. We're going to vote you out of office or suck on my machine gun."

When Morgan told him that 80 people across America die each day from a gunshot wound, Nugent obfuscated and started spouting hackneyed NRA talking points, "...78 of those 80 are let out of their cages by corrupt judges and prosecutors who know the recidivism is out of control, know that they'll commit the crimes again, and they let them walk through plea bargaining, early release, and programs. Kiss my ass. Where you have the most armed citizens in America, you have the lowest violent crime rate. Where you have the worst gun control, you have the highest crime rate... More guns equals less crime. Period."

A couple nights ago I went to hear Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, the thoughtful and independent-minded progressive running against rubber stamp Republican David Dreier in California's 26th CD in the L.A. suburbs just east of the city. When Anthony spoke passionately about the need for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals it occurred to me how few Democrats ever bring this up any longer. Yet his audience roared it's approval. The mindless hatred, fear-monger and commercial hucksterism of the Ted Nugents of this country has been going unanswered for too long. I was proud to hear Anthony pick up the challenge, regardless of the fact that gun advocate thugs have advocated the murder of him and his family. Another Democrat, on the other side of the side of the country, who's addressing sane gun policy as an issue in his campaign is Blue America-endorsed Nick Ruiz in central Florida. Last week Nick penned an editorial, Don't Need A Gun I want to share with you:

They always say that truth is stranger than fiction, and that is because fiction, largely, with a few relative and often literary exceptions, simply dramatizes the truth.

So when NRA darling, Republican Sandy Adams (FL-24) of Oviedo, Florida votes against a House Judiciary measure that would block those on the FBI’s watch list from buying guns, it should come as no surprise to Democrats. Such is the state of radical Republican disrepair. Are Republicans tough on terror? Yeah, sure, as long as it doesn’t interfere with selling guns, which is always-- so in other words, no, Republicans are not tough on terror or anything else-- except the poor and the unfortunate, who cannot adequately defend themselves.

It’s obvious to Democrats that federal law should be able to prevent a person from buying guns if that person is a terror suspect. It’s also a fact that the more guns a nation has, more murders and suicides as a result of gun sales will occur. The U.S. of course, is at the pinnacle of that list. In this regard, we outpace everyone.

On healthcare, we drag behind. On distribution of commodity necessities, we drag behind. On education, we drag behind. On jobs, we drag behind. On our social safety net, we drag behind.

But we sure know how to sell some guns.

According to the Orlando Sentinel-- “'Since 2004, over 1,300 persons on the terrorist watch list have been allowed to purchase firearms or explosives because federal law is so weak that being a known or suspected terrorist is not itself sufficient to prohibit someone from buying guns’ said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, a gun control group, in a statement.”

Americans love our Second Amendment rights-- but this is ridiculous.

Sandy Adams of course, has nothing to say-- because she is wrong-- and voted against the gun control measure anyway. An America that allows gun sales to known or suspected terrorists to proceed unchecked by federal law, makes a mockery of justice and moral conscience.

America needs better gun policies-- put a progressive Democrat in Congress.

On his website, where Nick originally posted this, he illustrated it with a cool video clip of Billy Idol doing "Don't Need A Gun." Go take a listen here and please consider making a contribution to Nick's campaign, especially if you agree that law enforcement should keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. And, for your listening and viewing pleasure... here's a video of the Self Destruction Mix of Depeche Mode's "Barrel of A Gun."