Romney responds to gun question

Thank you for contacting me about the important issue of gun ownership and the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I appreciate your interest in my campaign for president and would like to thank you for taking the time to share your views with me.

First, I support the Second Amendment as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American. The right to bear arms is essential to our functioning free society. I am proud to count myself as one of the many honest, law-abiding citizens who uses firearms responsibly.

I do not believe in adding any more laws to restrict the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. I resolutely believe in the significance of proper gun ownership and sales. I understand that there are those in this country who wish to remove all guns from our society, but understand I stand firmly against that view. While many in Washington do not, I recognize that there is a difference between law-abiding gun owners and criminals that wish to do harm. Those who choose to use a firearm during the commission of a crime must be punished to the full extent of the law. With that said, we should provide law enforcement with the proper resources to punish and deter criminals, not inconvenience lawful gun owners.

As governor of one of the most liberal states in the country, I was proud to support legislation that expanded the rights of gun owners. I worked hard to advance the ability of law-abiding citizens to purchase and own firearms. I stood against liberal desires to create bureaucracy intended to burden gun owners and sportsmen.

I believe that the support of pro-Second Amendment and sportsmen’s groups in my previous runs for office are a testament to my support of the Second Amendment. As governor, I designated May 7th as “The Right to Bear Arms” Day in Massachusetts to honor law-abiding citizens, like yourself, and their right to “use firearms in defense of their families, persons, and property for all lawful purposes, including common defense.” As president, I will fight the battle on all fronts to preserve the Second Amendment.

I am running for president because I believe in America and know that our best days are still ahead. I believe that the principles that made America the leader of the world today—freedom, opportunity, and free enterprise to name just a few—are the very principles that will keep America the leader of the world tomorrow. These last few years have not been the best of times. But while we’ve lost a couple of years, we can still get back on the right track.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I encourage you to visit my website at www.MittRomney.com for updated information on other issues that may be of interest to you. I look forward to hearing from you in the future and earning your support.

Sincerely, Mitt Romney

Romney on guns: http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Mitt...un_Control.htm

I really had to duck to avoid his suddenly projecting nose. What a hypocrite.