Gun Rights Groups Ask Candidates to Sign Pledge

The Second AmendmentFoundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms todayare transmitting to each of the Republican and Democratic presidentialcandidates the "2008 Presidential Gun Rights Pledge." In a letter to the candidates, SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb and CCRKBAExecutive Director Mark A. Taff note, "It is not enough for a candidate forthis nation's highest political office to merely mouth 'support' for theSecond Amendment. Whoever occupies the presidency must be someone who holdsthe Second Amendment to be as important to individual liberty as all theother tenets of our Bill of Rights." "We're asking each of the candidates to sign this pledge and go on therecord in stating that the Second Amendment affirms a fundamental,individual civil right," Gottlieb said. "We've heard them all claim tosupport the Second Amendment, but an individual civil right should not beinfringed, and 85 million American gun owners have a right to know whetherpeople who want to be trusted with the nation's highest office are firmbelievers in the concept of liberty and individual freedom." "Our Presidential Gun Rights Pledge," Taff added, "gives each candidatea one-time-only opportunity to either unconditionally embrace the SecondAmendment or reject it. There is no middle ground, no alternative position,and no second chance. We believe the candidates will have ample time tosign or reject this pledge by Friday, February 29." "It is time to cut through the rhetoric," Gottlieb observed. "With aSupreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment due in June, every candidatehas an obligation to tell American gun owners just where they stand onfirearms civil rights. Gun owners deserve a definitive answer from thecandidates so that they can make their own decisions on who best willrespect and protect their rights." A sample pledge is available athttp://www.saf.org/sample.2008.presidential.gun.rights.pledge.pdf The Second Amendment Foundation (http://www.saf.org) is the nation's oldestand largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal actiongroup focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately ownand possess firearms. Founded in 1974, the Foundation has grown to morethan 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed tobetter inform the public about the consequences of gun control. With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the CitizensCommittee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (http://www.ccrkba.org) is one ofthe nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profitorganization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearmsfreedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitatinggrass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communitiesthroughout the United States.