In the aftermath of the second presidential debate, most of the media spotlight has been on Gov. Mitt Romney's "binder full of women" and his Benghazi blunder. But there was another moment in the debate that got my attention - Romney's claim that pro-gun groups supported the assault weapons ban he signed into law in Massachusetts.
Here's the relevant exchange:
CANDY CROWLEY: Governor, if I could, the question was about these assault weapons that once were banned and are no longer banned. I know that you signed an assault weapons ban when you were in Massachusetts. Obviously with this question, you no longer do support that. Why is that given the kind of violence we see sometimes with these mass killings? Why is it that you've changed your mind?
GOV. ROMNEY: Well, Candy, actually in my state the pro-gun folks and the anti-gun folks came together and put together a piece of legislation. And it's referred to as an assault weapon ban, but it had -- at the signing of the bill both the pro-gun and the anti-gun people came together because it provided opportunities for both that both wanted.
As a Floridian, I know the National Rifle Association and its allies will give no quarter and concede no ground when it comes to "protecting Second Amendment rights" (really protecting gun and ammunition manufacturers). So Romney's claim set off my bullshit detector.
Today, I was able to confirm my suspicions - Romney lied. No surprise there. But it goes even deeper - the NRA is actually helping Romney deceive gun owners on this issue.
More below the orange doodle.
I am not a gun owner or gun lover. I do not support banning guns, but I do support more restrictions, and uniform national restrictions, on guns which would recognize the rights of hunters and target shooters to own guns for sport and self-defense, while at the same time slowing or reversing the proliferation of deadly weapons.
But I also have two friends, both women, who are gun enthusiasts. Neither are well off - in fact, both live at or near the poverty line. Both are still young enough to be concerned about reproductive rights. So both have a lot to lose if the Republicans win this election. But both plan to vote for Romney because they are absolutely convinced that President Obama has a nefarious scheme ready for his second term to take away their guns - or even their ammo. The fact that President Obama has actually expanded gun rights, while Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, signed legislation to restrict gun ownership, has not made an impression on them. They believe the NRA's propaganda.
I have a hunch this revelation might just change that.
According to a post published just before midnight Tuesday by Media Matters for America, not only did Romney lie about there being bipartisan support for his assault weapons ban, the NRA is helping him deceive gun owners.
According to Media Matters:
The NRA has endorsed Romney and recently used its NRA News radio outlet to rewrite history in an attempt to hide Romney's past support for tough gun control measures.
During the October 2 edition of Cam & Company on NRA News, host Cam Edwards told viewers that Romney's gun policy while governor was in line with the positions of Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), the Massachusetts state gun advocacy group. Edwards also claimed that Romney loosened restrictions on assault weapons while governor instead of enhancing them. Neither claim is accurate.
The full story of the NRA deception can be found at the link above. But in their Oct. 16 article, Media Matters highlights the essential truth:
In July 2004, then-Governor Romney signed legislation into law that made Massachusetts' assault weapons ban permanent and not reliant on a federal ban that expired at the end of 2004. The state issued a press release at the time, in which Romney described assault weapons as "instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."
GOAL fired back with its own press release titled, "Firearm Reform Bill Signed, Romney Takes Opportunity to Betray Gun Owners." The organization was especially irked that, "When asked by a reporter if he supported the renewal of the federal 'assault weapons' ban and if he had spoken to the senators about it, Governor Romney replied that it was not really his job to lobby on federal legislation, but that he shared Senator Kerry's and Senator Kennedy's position on the issue!"
I'm calling one of my two friends first thing in the morning (the other is notoriously hard to get hold of), and I plan to let her in on this. I almost have her convinced already, if not to vote for Obama, at least to
not vote for Romney. I'm hoping this will be an eye-opener for her. And I'm hoping she'll pass it along to our mutual friend. I'll let the DKos community know how it works out.