Gun rights a flashpoint in states’s Senate race

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu is defending her record on gun rights, seeking to rebut sharp criticism from the National Rifle Association in a state where the right to bear arms is given special constitutional protection.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was at a shooting range Tuesday in the south Louisiana town of Maurice to talk about what he described as Landrieu’s support for gun rights.
Meanwhile, Landrieu’s campaign was circulating a list of votes the senator has cast favoring gun ownership and touting a letter written by Natchitoches Sheriff Victor Jones saying Landrieu “consistently refuses to compromise our constitutional right to bear arms.”
The senator, locked in a tight race for a fourth term, is pushing back against an NRA ad that accuses Landrieu of “voting to take away your gun rights.” The NRA is supporting Landrieu’s main GOP opponent, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy.
The ad doesn’t list any specific votes to back up its assertion, but the organization cited Landrieu’s 2013 vote in support of expanded background checks for gun buyers, which was sponsored by Manchin.
The NRA also cites Landrieu’s confirmation votes for Supreme Court justices it sees as hostile to gun rights and several other votes in which Landrieu supported background checks for firearm transactions.
“She has a record of opposing gun rights, and we think it’s important that voters in Louisiana know that if they support the Second Amendment, then Mary Landrieu is not their candidate, Bill Cassidy is,” said Jennifer Baker, with the NRA.
None of the votes cited explicitly take away someone’s ability to have a gun. And despite the assertions from the NRA, Landrieu isn’t a consistent vote for gun control.
Her campaign points to the senator’s support for legislation that would require states to recognize each other’s concealed weapons permits and to allow firearms in national parks. Landrieu also opposed extending a ban on assault weapons.
Landrieu called the criticism a “desperate and worn-out attempt to distort my strong record of defending Second Amendment rights.”
“I have consistently voted to allow individuals to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense, prevent the federal government from creating a national gun registry and voted to not allow the government to seize firearms during and after a disaster,” she said in a statement.
The issue is a sensitive one in Louisiana, which has deep traditions of hunting and gun ownership. In 2012, voters overwhelmingly backed a constitutional amendment that made it tougher to restrict gun ownership rights in the state.
Cassidy touts his NRA endorsement and his “A-plus” rating with the organization.
which described the Republican congressman as working “diligently to safeguard the rights of law-abiding Americans who own firearms.”
Republicans point to Landrieu’s endorsement from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun control organization.
“Mary Landrieu is not a friend to Louisiana gun owners, and has shown she supports federal government encroachment in our daily lives,” Cassidy said in a statement.