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 NRA
The Biggest Loser
There has been this myth in political
circles if a lawmaker voted against legislation the NRA supported,
the NRA would defeat them in the next election. We continue
to prove in CT the opposite is true. This year we built on
our big wins in the last election cycle and again saw pro-NRA
legislators lose their seats.
Here in Connecticut, five of our State
House members who were endorsed by and/or rated A or better
by the NRA were defeated in their races. They were Al Adinolfi,
Cheshire, Richard Ferrari, East Granby, Ray Kalinowski, Durham,
Anne Ruwet, Torrington, and George Wilber, Colebrook. All
five voted against our lost/stolen bill which passed in the
2007 session.
In addition, three other members who voted
against us in 2007 did not run for reelection. They were:
Michael Caron, Plainfield; Ruth Fahrbach, Windsor; and Len
Greene, Beacon Falls. So eight of the 56 members who voted
against our lost/stolen bill (94 voted in favor of it), will
not be returning this year.
So the momentum continues to move in our
favor.
Results of national elections showed similar
poor results for NRA-endorsed candidates, in spite of their
huge expenditures. According to The Brady Center to Prevent
Gun Violence, " the fact that President-elect Barack Obama
and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, as well as other supporters
of sensible gun laws in U.S. Senate, U.S. House and state
races, won convincingly - including in states with heavy rates
of gun ownership - shows that support for common sense gun
laws is a winning message and not a dangerous political "wedge
issue" to be avoided by cautious politicians."
Additionally, according to the Brady report:
- More than 90 percent of Brady Campaign
endorsed candidates nationwide won their elections.
- In U.S. Senate races, Brady endorsed
candidates won 10 out of 10 races.
- In U.S. House races, Brady endorsed
candidates won more than 90 percent of their races.
- The NRA spent over thirty-one times
more money against Obama than it spent in its negative efforts
in 2000 against Al Gore.
- In head-to-head races between candidates
endorsed or "A" rated by the NRA and candidates endorsed
by the Brady Campaign, Brady candidates won more than 80
percent (including eight of eight U.S. Senate races).
To read the full report see: http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/guns-2008election.pdf.
The New York Times, in an editorial on
the same topic on December 2nd entitled "The Gun Lobby's Loss"
said, "The gun lobby has long intimidated politicians with
its war chest and its trumpeted ability to deliver single-issue
voters, especially in tight races. After this year's election,
those politicians should be far less afraid and far more willing
to vote for sensible gun-control laws."
Click
here to see the full editorial.
With a more favorable Congress and State
Legislature, we should be able to make significant inroads
for gun safety in the coming years. But as always we need
your help. Please contribute if you can.
Thank you.
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