Cheek to Cheek With Senator Rick Santorum

I finally had time to go through the September issue of American Rifleman, which features a Wayne LaPierre/Chris Cox tag team suck-up session masked as an interview titled "Face to Face With Senator Rick Santorum."

The subhead tells us the senator "receives an 'A+' grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund."

Gun Owners of America gives him a "C" rating. Why the disparity?

For one thing, the senator's own words show him in lock-step with NRA management.

"I support strict enforcement of current federal gun laws...My overarching position on gun legislation, and I also believe, the Republican Party's position, is that before we pass new laws to restrict Second Amendment rights, we must enforce the laws currently on the books to determine whether they are truly effective, rather than pass more redundant, ineffective laws."

Note the concern is wholly whether or not an edict will be "effective," not whether it is Constitutional. Perhaps Sen. Santorum and Messrs. LaPierre and Cox would explain where the Constitution provides for any federal gun laws, and how that squares with "shall not be infringed." Perhaps they could explain to us why their focus isn't on repealing, rather than enforcing existing infringements.

"In addition," Santorum continues, "I support programs such as Project Exile that have been successful in dramatically reducing violent gun crime."

Oh, for God's sake. Go read this.

I guess if you repeat something long enough, you might get some Kool-Aid drinkers who take things at face value without fact-checking to buy into it.

NRA's Project Exile showcase cities are experiencing murder rates at "crisis" levels. In Philadelphia, police are reduced to begging the public for help in identifying killers, and Richmond actually saw a murder increase in 2004 while national numbers declined.

NRA management needs to be told by its membership--in no uncertain terms--that they can't have it both ways. They can't tell the antis that gun control doesn't work, and then turn around and recommend gun control.

NRA members need to understand that "enforcing existing gun laws" is exactly what the feds were doing at Waco and Ruby Ridge.