Republican convention delegates said to have adopted the "most pro-gun platform ever"

by Chad D. Baus

On the eve of the opening to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa last week, The Washington Examiner reported that delegates were set to approve "the most pro-gun platform ever," staking out support for national concealed carry reciprocity and opposing domestic restrictions on ammunition and United Nations interference in gun sales.

From the article:

"It's probably the most supportive and detailed on Second Amendment issues ever," said a gun-rights advocate who attended the GOP platform committee meetings last week.

Besides giving the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment groups victories on their issues, the platform is also a slap at several Obama initiatives, including the Fast & Furious scandal, his administration's consideration of a ban on high-capacity bullet magazines and talk of reviving the assault weapons ban and negotiations in the United Nations over a treaty to regulate small arms sales.

Leading the changes from prior GOP platforms was a sentence backing the use of deadly force for self-defense. The added sentence reads: "We acknowledge, support and defend law-abiding citizens' God-given right of self-defense."

Also added was language opposing restrictions on ammo purchases and supporting the right of those with state-issued concealed carry permits to cross state lines.

In the section calling on Americans to handle guns safely, the GOP platform adds: "this also includes the right to obtain and store ammunition without registration. We support the fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law-abiding citizen has a legal right to be, and we support federal legislation that would expand the exercise of that right by allowing those with state-issued carry permits to carry firearms in any state that issues such permits to its own residents."

The article also notes the GOP took advantage in their platform to slap Attorney General Eric Holder and his refusal to dish out more documents on the Fast & Furious gun scandal on the border with Mexico which prompted the U.S. House to rebuke him.

In that section of the platform, delegates added, "We condemn the reckless actions associated with the operation known as 'Fast and Furious,' conducted by the Department of Justice, which resulted in the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent and others on both sides of the border. We applaud Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in holding the administration's attorney general in contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with their investigation into that debacle. We oppose the improper collection of firearms sales information in the four southern border states, which was imposed without congressional authority."

And the post-Batman shooting in Colorado, which has prompted a renewed interest in gun control and reviving the Clinton-era assault weapons ban, played a role in strengthening the GOP's opposition to a gun ban. The language added reads, "We oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our Second Amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips or magazines, or otherwise revising the ill-considered Clinton gun ban."

Mitt Romney recently went one on one with the NRA-ILA's Chris Cox. The interview has been published in the NRA's fleet of national magazines, and has been republished on our website.

Additional Information:
Romney chooses strong Second Amendment advocate and avid hunter as running mate

NRA-ILA: GOP Adopts Strongly Pro-Gun Platform

The inclusion of specific issues, such as the right to self-defense, opposition to the semi-auto ban, and support for interstate Right-to-Carry reciprocity makes this the most pro-Second Amendment position ever included in a major party platform. The NRA commends the GOP for taking a strong and unambiguous stance in support of our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms.

GOP platform mentions hunting, vets' gun rights

In addition to sending a strong signal about where it stands on the Second Amendment, the Republican Party platform adopted this week in Tampa also singles out support for hunting and for the firearms rights of military veterans, according to one of the people involved in crafting the platform.