The NRA has not officially endorsed Harry Reid, at least not yet. However, multiple sources indicate that the NRA has been considering such an endorsement. While Reid may have voted pro-gun at times, he poses a serious threat to gun owners.
Not only has Reid been crucial in the passage of anti-gun Obamacare, he has played a key role in the confirmation of radical, anti-gun liberals to powerful offices. His support for these gun grabbers clearly demonstrates his contempt for the Second Amendment.
Reid voted to confirm anti-gun Eric Holder, who was behind the Brady Bill and the draconian Clinton gun ban. Soon after Eric Holder was confirmed as Attorney General, he pushed for the continuation of the D.C. gun ban as well as the reinstatement of the Clinton gun ban.
Reid was instrumental in the confirmation of Cass Sunstein as “regulatory czar.” Hunting would be banned if Sunstein has his way.
Harold Koh, the top legal advisor at the State Department, also received Reid’s backing. Koh believes that the U.S. should be on board with the global gun control agenda.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor would not have been confirmed if it weren’t for Harry Reid. Had Reid objected to Sotomayor’s nomination, she would have been looking for a different job. As an Appeals Court Judge, Sotomayor ruled that a total gun ban by a state would be constitutional.
And, of course, Harry Reid shepherded the nomination of anti-gun Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan through the Senate as well.
Reid could have rejected every one of these gun-hating nominees and demand that President Obama select nominees that hold our constitutional rights in high regard.
Despite all this, American Rifleman, an NRA magazine, made Reid look like a gun rights champion for obtaining a $61 million earmark for a shooting range in Nevada.
Additionally, Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the NRA, was quoted praising Reid for his support of the Second Amendment at the range’s grand opening: “I also want to thank you, Senator, for your support every day for the Second Amendment and for the rights of American gun owners.”
Harry Reid deserves an F for his hostility toward gun rights. In addition to Reid’s backing of radical anti-gunners, his list of anti-gun votes is a mile long.
Below is a list of Reid’s anti-gun votes, compiled by Erick Erickson on redstate.com:
June 28, 1991. Vote No. 115. Voted for a 5 day waiting period for handgun purchases.
October 21, 1993. Vote 325. Voted to eliminate the Army Civilian Marksmanship Program. Only the most fringe anti-gun Senators voted for the amendment.
November 19, 1993. Vote 385. Allow states to impose waiting periods over and above the 5 days waiting period required under the Brady Bill.
November 19, 1993. Vote 386. Voted to eliminate he 5-year sunset in the Brady Bill.
November 19, 1993. Vote 387. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill (i.e. proceed to pass it).
November 19, 1993. Vote 390. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill (i.e. proceed to pass it).
November 20, 1993. Vote 394. Voted for the Brady Bill, which imposed a 5-business-day waiting period before purchasing a handgun.
August 25, 1994. Vote 294. Voted to close off debate (i.e. proceed to pass it) on the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
August 25, 1994. Vote 295. Voted for the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
April 17, 1996. Vote 64. Voted to expand the statute of limitations for paperwork violations in National Firearms Act from 3 years to 5 years.
June 27, 1996. Vote 178. Voting to destroy 176,000 M-1 Garand rifles from World War II, and 150 million rounds of 30 caliber ammunition, rather than giving them to the Federal Civilian Marksmanship program.
September 12, 1996. Vote 287. Voted to spend $21.5 million for a study on putting “taggants” in black and smokeless gunpowder.
September 12, 1996. Vote 290. Voted to make it a Federal crime to possess a gun within 1,000 yards of a school.
May 12, 1999. Vote 111. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions.
May 13, 1999. Vote 116. Voted to ban the importation of ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.
May 14, 1999. Vote 119. Voted to criminalize internet advertisements to sell legal firearms in a legal manner.
May 18, 1999. Vote 122. Voted for Mandatory triggerlocks.
May 20, 1999. Vote 133. Voted to create new Federal regulation of pawn shops handling of guns.
May 20, 1999. Vote 134. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions. The vote was 50-50, with Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking vote.
May 20, 1999. Vote 140. Voted for the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures. Reid later voted to close debate on the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures (July 29, 1999. Vote 224).
February 2, 2000. Vote 4. Voted to make firearms manufacturers and distributors’ debts nondischargeable in bankruptcy if they were sued because they unknowingly sold guns to individuals who used the gun in a crime. 68 Senators voted against Reid’s position, including 17 Democrats including Bryan of Nevada.
March 2, 2000. Vote 27. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings.
March 2, 2000. Vote 28. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings (reconsideration of vote 27).
March 2, 2000. Vote 32. Voted to use Federal taxpayer funds to hand out anti-gun literature in schools and to run anti-gun public service announcements.
April 6, 2000. Vote 64. Voted for a gun control package including new onerous restrictions on gun shows.
April 7, 2000. Vote 74. Voted against an amendment to provide for the enforcement of existing gun laws in lieu of new burdensome gun control mandates.
May 16, 2000. Vote 100. Voted to commend the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.
May 17, 2000. Vote 102. Vote to overturn the ruling of the chair that the Daschle amendment (commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures) was out of order.
May 17, 2000. Vote 103. Voted against an amendment stating “the right of each law-abiding United States citizen to own a firearm for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense or recreation, should not be infringed.”
May 17, 2000. Vote 104. Voted for an amendment commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.
February 26, 2004. Vote 17. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.
March 2, 2004. Vote 25. Voted for Federal regulation of gun shows.
July 28, 2005. Vote 207. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.
March 5, 2009. Vote 83. Voted against a ban on the United Nations imposing taxes on American citizens after France and other world leaders proposed a global tax on firearms.
Sources:
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/07/01/nra-now-leans-toward-endorsing-harry-reid/