Mainly we find out that Bush is more of a fisherman, and Kerry "fronts" hard on being an outdoorsy guy. You know, like windsurfing off the shore of Kennebunghole or wherever he does it.

Anyhoo, I found this quote interesting in light of the AWB demise: (Quotes courtesy F&S)

Evans: (Interviewer) A gun question: "One of the most hotly debated topics among gun owners is the so-called assault weapons ban. Some sportsman think the ban is the first step on a slippery sloper toward broader gun controls. Should they be concerned?"

President Bush: "I think we ought to keep the ban... I've said that the ban ought to be extended but not expanded. Secondly, they should not be concerned as long as I'm the president." (emphasis mine) "The best gun policy is to find and prosecute those who commit crimes with guns. The best way to protect people's rights to own a gun without undue interference by the government, and I emphasize undue - or unnecessary- is to hold people to account who use guns to commit crimes. You know, I was an instant-background-check person. I think that makes sense. I think most gun owners understand that we don't want people who should not be owning a gun buying a gun. And one way to do so is to use technology in such a way that we are able to identify felons, for example, or people that shouldn't be owning a gun. And I think they ought to be extended to all places guns are sold, by the way, and I know we can do that. But I emphasize the instand background check. This ought not to be a cumbersome process. This ought to be a consumer-friendly process."

I don't mind an instant check. I wish that's all we had here in MI, frankly. I like what he says for the most part. I think he's referring to the oft mentioned "Gun Show Loophole" with his "...I think they ought to be extended to all places guns are sold..." comment. Bush also said that VP Cheney was "No contest" the better shot though.

Here's a Kerry quote or two...

Marshall: "The NRA has given you an "F" throughout your senate career..."

Kerry: "Yeah, because the NRA has a silly methodology that doesn't make any sense. I'm a gun owner. I'm a hunter- I've been a hunter all my life. But I vote for reasonable things. I mean, I just think the Brady Bill is reasonable. They (the NRA) score that a zero. Having assault weapons reaonsonably regulated is intelligent. I mean, I've never thought about going hunting with an assault weapon of war. If you want to wield one of those, then go join the military. I think you can protect the rights of sportsmen, protect the right of people to bear arms. I believe in the second amendment. You know, we've had these laws on the books for 10 years or more: Nobody has ever tried to take anyone's guns away. It's just phoniness, and absolute phoniness the arguments they make. I have the complete intention of protecting the rights of sportsmen. In fact, I think I'm better for the rights of sportsmen than George Bush."

(the interviewer asks "Why is that" and he goes into a long diatribe I am not going to type at this point... so here is a few comments from it)

"And I'm never going to vote to take away guns. I never have. I never sponsored anything to suggest that. But at the same time, with the right to own a gun comes responsibility. Everybody who owns a gun knows that... (snip)...Every law enforcement agency in the country supported restraints on assault weapons. The NRA, in fact, stands against the law enforcement entities of this country. and I think there is something completely out of whack when that becomes the measurement and you, quote "get an F" from people fighting law enforcement and who called the ATF jack-booted thugs. I just can't understand that."

that's super DUPER

Kerry is a two faced son of a jackel. His answer proves why he cant be president. He could say that you can be a dictator without infringing on democracy.

I guess what gets me about the whole thing... It makes me sick when I see Kerry up on the idiot box holding a shotgun aloft like "I'm one of you" when in the back of his mind he's really thinking "One gun down, the rest to go"

And the general public that doesn't do the most cursory look into a politician's voting record (either side, mind you) just eats it up. They think he's all things to all people.

You mean this?

Hey, I'm one of you!


Hey, we're disarming the sonsabitches!

While I suspect GW could give two shits and a shot of piss if law-abiding citizens can buy/own so-called "Assault Weapons," I wish he'd stop saying he supports that damn ban.

Really.

Quoted: I wish he'd stop saying he supports that damn ban.

+1

This was making it's way through battlerifles. I don't think they like it too much when Garands or 1903's are threatened:

www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040915-090156-4833r.htm

Kerry's nuanced view of gun rights

John Kerry is a hunter — ergo he's a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. At least that's what he wants voters to believe. And especially with the controversial 10-year-old "assault weapons ban" expiring this week, the Democratic presidential nominee has taken nearly every chance to tell voters that he is the "first Democratic candidate to support Second Amendment gun rights and to be an avid hunter."

   In fact, during Mr. Kerry's 20-year Senate career, he has voted almost in lock-step with the gun-control lobby. The Brady Campaign, a gun-control advocacy group, gives the senator a 100 percent rating. The National Rifle Association seems to agree — on Mr. Kerry's anti-gun record, that is. In evaluating the accuracy of Mr. Kerry's "hunter equals Second Amendment supporter" rhetoric, consider:

   • In 1993 and again in 1996, Mr. Kerry voted to eliminate the Civilian Marksmanship Program, a tax-exempt corporation that promotes gun safety and training. The CMP is also involved with the Boy Scouts and the American Legion.

   • In 1999 and again in 2004, Mr. Kerry voted to criminalize legal sales between private individuals at gun shows, which cater to avid hunters and sportsmen.

   • In March, Mr. Kerry voted to ban most center-fire ammunition, which includes rounds commonly used by hunters.

   Judging from Mr. Kerry's record, it isn't surprising that he supported the assault- weapons ban that expired Tuesday. But Mr. Kerry still felt the need to find a middle ground — a nuanced position. "Let me be clear," he said. "I support the Second Amendment. I am a gun owner. I am a hunter." At the same time, he added, "George Bush chose to make the job of terrorists easier, and the job of police officers harder." How the ban's extension would have hindered terrorists' effort to fly planes into buildings Mr. Kerry didn't clarify.

   Clumsily straddling the Second Amendment divide, Mr. Kerry no doubt knows what every other politician knows about the assault-weapons ban: It was a Clinton-era experiment in gun control that didn't do a thing to stem gun violence. A National Institute of Justice report found "no discernable reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence" since the ban was passed in 1994. But, to be sure, supporting the ban is hardly a politically risky move. When 70 percent of Americans favor its extension, it's not as if Mr. Kerry is boldly — pardon the expression — sticking to any moral guns. Yet there was Mr. Kerry at a recent campaign rally holding aloft a "banned" rifle to the cheers of his supporters.

   Mr. Kerry plays this game because most Americans don't vote for politicians based on their gun-control positions. Those that do, however — not an insignificant amount — are against limits on the Second Amendment. Given this, we expect Mr. Kerry to tout his hunting credentials on every stump in the nation.