With great fanfare today, Democratic North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan announced she will co-chair, with Republican Sen. John Thune, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus:
“North Carolina is among the best places to hunt and fish in the country and I’m honored to continue to protect our rich outdoor heritage as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus,” Hagan said in a statement.
“I grew up in a family of lifelong hunters, and some of my favorite activities are hiking and fishing with my family across our state,” Hagan wrote.
I pointed out in a post 10 days ago that Hagan had responded to a constituent on the subject of gun control with a weasel-worded statement that implied the Second Amendment was all about hunting rights. You can read here full statement here.
Also of interest in her constituent letter is this sentence (emphasis added by me):
As always, it is important that we not unnecessarily infringe on the legitimate Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners.
Does Hagan feel that the hunting and sporting aspects of gun ownership are the only “legitimate” ones? There is no indication in her constituent statement or in her comments today that she sees self-defense, home defense, defense against tyranny, or defense against the nation’s enemies as legitimate rights under the Second Amendment. Does she believe there are “necessary” infringements of Second Amendment rights? And if so, which would they be?
Conveniently, Hagan’s refusal to say that the Second Amendment applies to anything other than hunting leaves her free to justify banning AR-15s, or any other rifle or shotgun that gun-opponents think is an “assault weapon.” All she has to say, before voting for Obama’s gun-control measures is, “No one needs an assault weapon for hunting.”
The members of Congress participating in the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus are giving cover to Democrats in Red States, like Hagan, who likely would be on board with gun banning if their constituents thought more like those in New York. The caucus also gives aid and comfort to those on the left who peddle the notion that the Second Amendment is a hunter-protection clause.
My suggestion is that someone create the Congressional Second Amendment Defense Caucus. I would be curious to see how many liberals like Hagan join a group that unambiguously and unconditionally supports the constitutional right of Americans to own guns, for whatever lawful reason, and not just for hunting.
