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Sarah Palin on Gun Control

Republican Governor (AK); 2008 nominee for Vice President

 


Gun laws just take away the good guys' freedom

One reason I like Texans: They don't mess around with our Second Amendment rights. All this stuff coming lately from the White House to take away the good guys' freedom, and, the right to protect ourselves with the most naive notion that the bad guys, who ignore the laws, that all of a sudden they're going to follow some new laws. It's not about the bad guys. No , it's all about the lead, like solely, that chunk of metal didn't commit the crime. That's like saying solely, that fork made me fat.

And background checks, yeah, I guess to learn more about the person's thinking and associations and intentions. More background checks? Dandy idea Mr. President--should have started with yours.

Source: Speech at 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. , Mar 16, 2013

Open carry in city library and city hall

Sarah celebrated Fourth of July 1997 by signing an administrative order that allowed the open carrying of weapons in the library. Cynics said this was an attempt to put the librarian in the crosshairs [based on Sarah's kerfuffle over pro-gay library books], but Sarah noted that the order also permitted guns to be carried or worn in City Hall.
Source: The Rogue, by Joe McGinniss, p.120 , Sep 20, 2011

1996: Allow concealed carry in bars, banks, & schools

Sarah focused the secular aspects of her campaign on two issues: closing hours for local bars and liberalization of Alaska's already lenient gun laws.

The proposed changes to the state's gun laws would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in bars and banks and on school grounds--they were already permitted everywhere else. [Sarah's opponent Mayor] Stein said, "It simply wasn't a municipal issue. The state legislature would decide that, and it didn't matter how the police chief or I felt about it."

But it mattered to Sarah and her supporters. She accused Stein, a longtime member of the National Rifle Association, and the police chief, a Vietnam vet, of being "anti-gun." In Alaska--especially in Wasilla's Mat-Su Valley--this was a more serious charge than pederasty.

Source: The Rogue, by Joe McGinniss, p. 61-62 , Sep 20, 2011

Post-Gifford shooting: don't blame GOP & don't restrict guns

Sarah Palin stuck to her guns on guns, in her first major public appearance since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was critically wounded and six people were killed at a Tucson campaign event. Palin was criticized after the shootings for having published campaign literature that marked some Democratic districts, including Giffords's, with crosshairs, but she pushed back, saying Republicans were being unfairly blamed for the act of a crazed shooter.

Asked if she would support efforts to restrict semiautomatic weapons or multi-bullet clips, like the clips used in the Tucson shooting, Palin responded, "There are already on the books many gun control measures and I do support those that are on the books. I do not support taking away more freedom from the good guy. The people who have no intention of using that weapon to harm another person so, no additional gun control measures could be supported." She added, "Prayers should continue for the full recovery of Gabby Giffords and others who were involved."

Source: Associated Press in ABC News, "Palin Rejects New Gun Laws" , Feb 17, 2011

Plenty of room for all animals--next to mashed potatoes

Not far from home, near the Talkeetna Mountains, I learned to hunt. Traveling on skis and snowshoes, we harvested ptarmigan and big game. I love meat. I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou. I always remind people from outside our state that there's plenty of room for all Alaska's animals--right next to the mashed potatoes.

In our northern state, with some communities located hundreds of miles from big grocery stores, Alaskans have for generations lived on local, organic protein sources. Anti-hunting groups are clueless about this. It always puzzled me how some of the people who think killing and eating animals in the wild is somehow cruel have no problem buying dead animals at the grocery store, wrapped in cellophane instead of fur.

Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p. 18-19 , Nov 17, 2009

Hunting provides organic protein sources

I trimmed the state food budget by keeping our home's freezer stocked with the wild seafood we caught ourselves, as well as organic protein sources hunted by friends and family. If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: "If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?"

As governor, though, hunting WAS an issue. I would face pressure from Hollywood to halt hunting, ban guns, and end our state's wildlife management practices, such as controlling predators. I said no to all of that nonsense: gun bans would destroy the Second Amendment, and as a lifelong member of the NRA (Alaska has the highest NRA membership per capita in the nation)

I had plenty of backup when telling Hollywood liberals what I thought of their asinine plans to ban guns. And we HAD to control predators, such as wolves, that were decimating the moose and caribou herds that feed our communities.

Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p.133-134 , Nov 17, 2009

Shot her first rabbit at age 10; freezer filled with game

The Heath house in Wasilla sat near woodlands of birch, willow, and spruce. The woods were a wilderness playground--the kind of place where kids play out the imaginative adventures of childhood.

In both summer and winter, most of the family's activitie took place outdoors. Sarah said that she appreciates the many outdoor adventures she had as a child. Fitness was a big part of family life. "My parents jumped on the bandwagon of the '70s running craze," she said. The whole family ran together, competing in five- and ten-kilometer races throughout the summer.

When the family wasn't running or hiking, it was hunting or fishing. "We could literally go hunting out our back door," [Sarah's brother] Chuck Jr. said. Sarah shot her first rabbit at age ten not far from the back porch. In her teens, she hunted caribou with her father. The family's freezer was always full of fish and game. Chuck Jr. said he didn't eat a beef steak until he was a senior in high school. Gardening helped fill the family larder.

Source: Hockey Mom, by Kaylene Johnson , Sep 9, 2008

Hunts and fishes, as did her father

Her father shot the grizzly bear whose hide is now draped over the sofa in her office. She, too, hunts and fishes. She runs marathons. She delivered her fifth child during her first term as governor. They call her husband, the reigning champion in the annual Iron Dog snowmachine race, First Dude.

Though indisputably Alaskan, she rose to prominence by bucking the state’s rigid Republican hierarchy, impressing voters more with gumption, warmth and charm than an established record in government.

Source: New York Times, pp. A1 & A10, “An Outsider Who Charms” , Aug 29, 2008

Hunts as much as she can; freezer-full of wild game

Like many Alaskans, Gov. Sarah Palin is a lifelong hunter and strong proponent of Second Amendment rights. A longtime member of the National Rifle Association, she told USA Today when she was running for governor as a Republican in 2006 that “We hunt as much as we can, and I’m proud to say our freezer is full of wild game we harvested here in Alaska.” Palin’s favorite food? “Moose stew after a day of snowmachining,” she said.
Source: Q&A with Newsweek’s Brian Braiker , Aug 29, 2008

Supports ending D.C.’s 32-year-old ban on handguns

Governor Sarah Palin today lauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision upholding the right of Americans to own guns for self-defense, hunting and other purposes. The high court’s 5-4 ruling in District of Columbia vs. Heller affirmed gun rights by striking down the District’s 32-year-old ban on handguns.

“This decision is a victory for all Alaskans and individual Americans. The right to own guns and use them responsibly is something I and many other Alaskans cherish,“ Governor Palin said. ”I applaud the Court for standing up for the Constitution and the right of Americans to keep and bear arms.“

The state of Alaska in February joined a multi-state amicus brief written by the state of Texas in support of the Second Amendment right of individual Americans to bear arms.

Source: Alaska Governor’s Office: press release, “2nd Amendment” , Jun 26, 2008

Lifelong NRA member & champion of right to bear arms

Governor Sarah Palin announced the State of Alaska will join the multi-state amicus brief authored by the State of Texas in support of the Second Amendment right of individual Americans to bear arms. The Texas amicus brief in the case Washington, D.C. v. Heller will be filed by February 11, 2008.

Governor Palin, a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, has long been a champion of the constitutional right to bear arms, as well as a proponent of gun safety programs for Alaska’s youth.

“I am proud to join the State of Texas in support of the Second Amendment,” Governor Palin said. “We need to send a strong message that law-abiding citizens have a right to own firearms, for personal protection, for hunting and for any other lawful purpose.”

Source: Alaska Governor’s Office: press release, “2nd Amendment” , Feb 8, 2008

Supports Constitutional right to bear arms

I am a lifetime member of the NRA, I support our Constitutional right to bear arms and am a proponent of gun safety programs for Alaska’s youth.
Source: 2006 Gubernatorial website, palinforgovernor.com, “Issues” , Nov 7, 2006

Other candidates on Gun Control: Sarah Palin on other issues:
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Bill Clinton (D,1993-2001)
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Ronald Reagan (R,1981-1989)
Jimmy Carter (D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford (R,1974-1977)
Richard Nixon (R,1969-1974)
Lyndon Johnson (D,1963-1969)
John F. Kennedy (D,1961-1963)
Dwight Eisenhower (R,1953-1961)
Harry_S_TrumanHarry S Truman(D,1945-1953)

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Page last updated: Oct 28, 2021