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“I know, Earl. Many of the folks out there thought I wrote that e-mail about supporting Jerry Brown. Anyone who knows me understands I’m a Ronnie Reagan Republican, and voting for Moonbeam would be like drinking Drano. Or rooting for the Giants.”
“Not to mention that I’d personally shoot you.”
“Thanks, Earl.” And this from my own uncle.
As you may recall, I was sent an e-mail by a reader who approached the major candidates for California governor about Assembly Bill 962, the measure that restricts ammunition purchases. The reader received a mixture of responses and shared them with me.
They wound up in last week’s column.
The response to my little Yahoo e-mail account over the column has been staggering. So, it’s time to share what I learned and heard from our loyal readers.
Apparently, Steve Poizner is not weak on the Second Amendment. His campaign shared with me that Poizner has the endorsement of Gun Owners of California and has had a representative at nearly every gun show in the state during the campaign.
In an audio clip from the Inga Barks show in Kern County, Poizner clearly voiced his opposition to AB962 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCdInwNVtks). OK, I’m convinced. Poizner stands behind gun owners.
From the Meg Whitman campaign, I received a list of talking points that included: “Meg Whitman is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and our clear constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” and “Meg Whitman believes Second Amendment rights must be rigorously protected.”
I tried desperately to find any statement by Meg Whitman opposing AB962 but could find none. I did, however, find a comment Whitman made in her book, “The Power of Many,” where she stated “we realized that people were selling items of a much more serious nature: Guns. Tobacco products. Alcohol. Pornography. Drugs. Hate literature and items bearing swastikas” (p. 92).
“Sounds like Meg puts guns in the same category as porno and drugs.”
“Sure sounds like that, Earl.” Sorry, Whitman folks. Looks like Poizner wins in the Second Amendment arena.
On the topic of voting for Jerry Brown, I was surprised at the number of conservatives who think the same way as my paisano e-mail writer.
W.W. shared with me that “we already decided to back Jerry Brown before your column — it’s spot on. Whitman and Poizner would take any stand or say anything to get elected.” Further, “what makes Jerry stand out is that during his term as mayor of Oakland, he attended the funerals of all crime victims. Actions speak volumes about a person’s character.”
However, the overwhelming majority of e-mail came from conservatives who are not one-issue voters but look at the entire candidate and vote accordingly.
My neighbor, D.G., wrote: “if some Repub thinks Brown is going to agree with him on the NRA thing ... he’s been duped. A liberal is always a liberal. ... Brown might cater a tad to the NRA folks just to get a vote, but he’ll enact a plethora of horrific ideas the rest of the time.”
T.J. took me to task by telling me that “we are on the verge of going into economic default as a state, and you are using the litmus test of gun control to choose a governor. At this juncture in our state’s history, that pales in comparison with the need for the fiscal responsibility of cutting taxes and decreasing spending.”
My fellow Knight, D.K., pointed out that “at least with the RINOs, we have a chance of some conservative issues moving forward. Jerry Brown will make sure that all conservative bills are DOA.”
R.T. mentioned that “I am concerned that the other candidates are more anti-gun than Brown. I didn’t know this and want to thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will have to give this more thought as to who I should support.”
I think this is the crux of the issue for all of us conservatives. While gun control is a critical issue, we would be wise to balance this with the entire package of positions to which a candidate holds.
“What a pansy statement, boy. They can have my gun when they pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.”
“Earl, you have such a way with words. Now, let’s go shooting.”
Steve Lunetta is a Santa Clarita resident and can be reached at slunetta63@yahoo.com. His column reflects his own views and not necessarily those of The Signal.
