BELLEVUE, WA – Gun owners appear to have been the linchpin in the victory of Rep. John Sununu over Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in their race for New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate seat, demonstrating that it is not enough for Democrats to claim they are pro-sportsman to earn the trust of gun rights voters.
So stated Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). He applauded New Hampshire gun owners for getting out the vote, and making gun rights the deciding factor in this election.
“Gov. Shaheen insisted during the campaign that she had the support of sportsmen,” Gottlieb observed, “but that hardly makes someone a pro-gun candidate, and New Hampshire gun owners quickly understood that.
“I tend to agree,” Gottlieb continued, “with Dr. Stephen King, president of the Gun Owners of New Hampshire, that gun owners have been the deciding factor in many close races, including this one.”
Sununu overcame the odds to earn the Senate seat, with gun owners seeing a clear difference between he and Shaheen. The governor had supported increased regulations on gun owners, subscribing to the tired “common-sense, responsible” gun law theme. For gun owners, those terms translate to increasing erosion of their civil rights.
“Democrats don’t seem to understand that gun owners see through the buzz words,” Gottlieb explained. “For over a year, Democrats like Shaheen had been soft-peddling their position on guns, trying desperately to make themselves more appealing to gun owners. Obviously that hasn’t worked, in New Hampshire and several other races where voters understand the Second Amendment a lot better than politicians.”
He also noted that New Hampshire voters have grown tired of the obstructionist tactics of Senator Patrick Leahy from neighboring Vermont.
“Under the Senate leadership of South Dakota Democrat Tom Daschle, Senator Leahy has blocked much-needed federal judicial nominations,” Gottlieb said. “By electing Mr. Sununu, gun owners not only defended their gun rights, they sent a clear message to Daschle and Leahy that the childish partisanship must end.”