Tuesday, March 20, 2007

An Interview With Duncan Hunter

Representative Duncan Hunter sparked my interest when he announced that he was throwing his hat into the ring and run for president on the GOP ticket. The Duncan Hunter '08 website did an excellent job of defining his core values and beliefs in the areas of the war in Iraq, terrorism, taxes, abortion and the like, but had scant information on his views of gun rights and the Second Amendment.

So what's a blogger to do other than get in contact with his campaign staff and request an interview?

After correspondence back and forth, and a bit of time to allow Representative Hunter's staff to vet both myself and my blog, he agreed.

An interview (via email) with presidential candidate Duncan Hunter.

Thank you for taking the time to answer the following firearm related questions. The Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, and firearms issues in general are not addressed on your campaign web site so folks are interested in your views on these issues.

Thank you for the opportunity to address these vital issues of liberty with you. Our website was put together piece by piece and the Second Amendment statement was one of the later things added. That does not reflect the slightest lack of commitment on my part regarding Second Amendment rights. My record over 26 years in Congress is absolutely clear.”

1. Please state, in your own words, what the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States means to you. Do you understand the right to keep and bear arms to be an individual or a collective right?

The right to keep and bear arms is an absolute right of Americans to protect their families and their communities and their nation with firearms. In this age of post-911, Americans, I believe are comforted by the fact that our ability to resist terrorism is not limited to law enforcement or defense agencies but is also within the ability of all gun-owning Americans.”


2. There has been a lot of discussion in the media and in the legislature about “Closing the Gun Show Loophole.” What is your definition of a “Gun Show Loophole”, and how would you address this issue?

I reject the term ‘loophole’. It is a clever verbal device of the left to restrict the rights of Americans. Constitutional rights are not loopholes in governmental regulations. As President, I would veto legislation that would require a background check on private firearms transactions at gun shows or any other bill that restricts the Second Amendment Rights of American.”


3. Representative Carolyn McCarthy has introduced H.B. 1022, the Assault Weapons Ban and law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007. Do you believe that Americans have the right to own, use and carry weapons of military pattern? Do you support restricting a citizen’s access to firearms based upon cosmetics or ease of function?

As President, I would veto any bill that reauthorizes the semi-auto ban that was sunset in 2004. These types of bills represent “feel good” measures that impede the rights of law-abiding citizens by banning guns based not on facts but based largely upon how scary they look.”


4. In Congress, you represent the great state of California, a state applauded by some and demonized by others for having extremely restrictive gun control laws. Do you understand California’s gun control laws to be a necessary and effective deterrent to violent crime?

Gun control laws directed at law-abiding citizens are not a crime deterrent. In fact, studies show that private ownership of firearms by Americans reduces crime. You and I both know that the one thing criminals prefer more than any other is unarmed victims.”


5. If you are elected President of the United States, how would your presidency affect firearm owners?

As President, I will not sign any treaty that impedes, in any way, the Second Amendment rights of Americans.

Only judges who have a demonstrated commitment to interpret the Constitution as our founders intended will be nominated to the federal bench.

I would ask Congress to send me for my signature, legislation to repeal the D.C. gun ban, legislation to allow reciprocity among states with concealed carry rights and other pieces of legislation to restore rights that prior administrations have eroded.

In fact, I authored the Hunter amendment, Rol call 241 in 1999, to allow DC residents to keep and bear arms
.”


Representative Hunter; thank you again for taking time out of your busy day to answer these questions and address issues that many Americans see as important. Your voting history on Second Amendment issues is appreciated.

Respectfully,

JR


There it is, Duncan Hunter on the Second Amendment. Since this was an interview, I'll leave my thoughts to myself for the time being.

I am very thankful to Representative Hunter for taking the time to answer these questions. I hope the questions were sufficient to give you information you can use in making a decision in the Republican primaries.

7 comments:

E. David Quammen said...

Good catch, John!

Mike's America said...

Thanks for your comment at Mike's America.

You might have missed the piece I wrote on Hunter after meeting him here on Hilton Head earlier this month:

http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2007/03/presidential-candidate-duncan-hunter.html

As I said to him, most everyone in the room agrees with him on the conservative issues he describes. But considering how divided the country is how would he get his program enacted. I also mentioned that we're all looking for a man like Reagan who had not only the vision but the skill to get his program through.

Hunter has done very well here in SC. It remains to be seen whether he has the charisma or star power to translate his stand on the issues into votes and ultimately leadership.

Anonymous said...

9. 2nd Ammendment

But, the second amendment is not about hunting. It is about the right of you and me to be secure in our homes.

Perhaps I'm overly skeptical, but this is what we have in Killinois. We can only be secure, "in our homes."

I think we should have the right to be secure anywhere we are.

BobG said...

Sort of a refreshing viewpoint in a politician, isn't it?

Raven said...

Wow..thanks for sharing this. I had questions for Hunter about guns and this interview answered them.

Unknown said...

Looks promising on 2A issues. I guess my only question for him at the moment would be...

"Considering your answers - especially the one for Question 5, it seems that you are an advocte of repealing current gun laws. If you are serious about this, then why have you not signed on as a Co-sponsor to HR 1096 over the same span of time that HR 1022 has added 30 cosponsors?"

Note: HR 1096 was introduced by Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) who is competing with Hunter for the Republican presidential nomination.

Anonymous said...

I saw an interesting post about Hunter an www.bizplusblog.com. It appears he is make up for a lack of cash with creativity.