Portman campaign issues Second Amendment-related campaign flyer

by Chad D. Baus

Rob Portman, former Congressman and current Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has begun distributing literature designed to inform voters about his record on the issue of gun rights.

The flyer begins by pointing out Portman's strong history of support for Second Amendment-related issues, and grading resume from than National Rifle Association over his entire 12 years in Congress:

"Rob Portman is a conservationist and an avid outdoorsman. He is a lifelong hunter and fisherman, and a gun owner who believes in the right to bear arms in defense of self, family and property. During his 12 years serving in Congress, the National Rifle Association gave him an A rating for his votes to defend our Constitutional Rights."

The flyer goes on to provide a list which proves Portman is not just a man of words when it comes to the Second Amendment, but of actions:

• Rob voted against the so-called "assault weapons ban."
• Rob voted to repeal the Clinton gun ban.
• Rob voted against the Brady Bill.
• Rob voted for a bill that would have restored District of Columbia residents the right to possess firearms in their homes or businesses.
• Rob voted to protect firearm and ammunition manufacturers, dealers or importers from lawsuits and damages related to criminal misuse by a third party.
• Rob voted to protect the rights and freedoms of hunters and developed an executive order that the president signed to enhance hunting and fishing opportunities at wildlife refuges and national preserves.
• Rob voted to protect the private information of gun owners and to protect state gun laws.

Portman's Democrat opponent in this race is Lee Fisher.

As noted recently in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Fisher has tried repeatedly to regulate guns, whether from his perch as a former board member of Handgun Control, Inc., or from his service in the Ohio Senate, or from his time as Ohio attorney general."

Also from that article:

Fisher...embraced assault-weapons bans. Prior to 1993, when Congress passed the so-called Brady Bill to require background checks and a waiting period for gun purchases, Fisher tried repeatedly to get a similar law passed in Ohio.

Critics cite other statements he has made in support of gun regulation, such as this, from a 1993 memo when Fisher was Ohio attorney general: "The right to bear arms is a very limited right...and the state and its political subdivisions have the authority to regulate the possession and use of assault weapons."

Also according to The Plain Dealer, Fisher once called the revelation that America had based its gun control laws on Nazi Germany's disarmament of the Jews "an irrelevancy."

The Portman campaign flyer promises that "As Ohio's next Senator Rob will continue to protect our Constitutional freedoms and will be a strong advocate for preserving these rights and traditions for future generations."

DOWNLOAD THE FLYER, print copies, and make sure your friends, family and co-workers know about the staunch difference facing them at the ballot box this November.

Additional Information:
Buckeye Firearms Association endorses Rob Portman for U.S. Senate

Summary of Notes and Minutes, Meeting of Friday, December 17, 1993, Rough Draft Proposal for Internal Memo and Five Year Plan, HANDGUN CONTROL, INC. (Lee Fisher is prominently listed as a Board Member)