HISTORY HISTORY HISTORY!!!!!!!
All this is mute, forget about what any of the candidates say, and forget about the back and forth banter. Look toward their voting record and you will know all you need to know.
http://youtu.be/5Aohgrn1peARick Santorum is a big government, big spending, big war candidate with a sprinkle of theocracy. VERY BAD NEWS for a republic and what this country was founded on. Yes he has some good voting but the bad far outweighs his good.
For this site:
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Pennsylvania/Rick_Santorum/Views/The_Second_Amendment/Summary:
Rick Santorum - The Second AmendmentSummary
Senator Santorum has a mixed record on the second amendment. Some of Senator Santorum's record indicates that he supports strong second amendment rights. In 1993, Senator Santorum voted against the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, the Brady Bill. In 2004, he also voted against an extension of the Assault Weapons ban, and against an amendment to require background checks at gun shows.
On the other hand, much of Senator Santorum's record shows support for gun control to deter crime. In 1997, he voted for an omnibus spending bill that included the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban. This legislation would have made it illegal for men convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or who have a restraining order to own a gun. In 2004, Senator Santorum also voted for legislation to require child locks on all weapons.
That same legislation contained the Gun Free School Zone Act. That legislation made it illegal to be in possession of a firearm on school grounds.
in 1996, Senator Santorum co-sponsored legislation to increase mandatory minimum sentences for criminals possessing firearms. Specifically, the legislation would have increased penalties regarding using or carrying a firearm and using or carrying a firearm while in possession of armor piercing ammunition during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking.
In addition to these items, Senator Santorum has repeatedly supported Project Exile. Project Exile was a federal program started in Richmond, Virginia in 1997. The project was designed to shift the prosecution of illegal technical gun possession offenses from state courts to federal court, where they carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968. In 2000 and 2001, Senator Santorum co-sponsored legislation to implement this program. Specifically, that legislation would have amended the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to provide firearms sentencing incentive grants to eligible States that:
demonstrate that they have implemented firearms sentencing laws requiring that any person who uses or carries a firearm during and in relation to any violent crime or serious drug trafficking crime be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years (without the possibility of parole) in addition to the punishment provided for such crime, or requiring that any person who possesses a firearm, having at least one prior conviction for a violent crime, shall be sentenced to five years' imprisonment (without the possibility of parole);
or can demonstrate that they have in effect an equivalent Federal prosecution agreement;
and demonstrate that they have or will implement a public awareness and community support program that seeks to build support for, and warns potential violators of, such firearms sentencing laws;
and provide assurances that they will coordinate with Federal prosecutors and Federal law enforcement agencies to promote Federal involvement and cooperation in the enforcement of laws within that State and will allocate resources in a manner calculated to reduce crime in the high-crime areas of the State.
From the GOA:
Rick Santorum on Gun Rights
Friday, 17 February 2012 22:36
Rick Santorum on Gun Rights
Senator Rick Santorum has often supported gun rights, as indicated by his 2012 GOA Survey. In it, Santorum pledges to:
* Veto legislation banning semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity magazines;
* Repeal the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1996, which has only managed to discourage teachers and principals from protecting students against crazed killers who ignore gun bans;
* Repeal the Lautenberg gun ban of 1996, which places a lifetime gun ban on people for offenses as slight as shouting matches in the home;
* Protect veterans from the Veterans Disarmament Act -- a law which has contributed to the more than 150,000 vets who have been disarmed, as they suffer from ailments such as PTSD;
* Oppose a UN gun control treaty; and
* Overturn the gun control practices which began during the Obama Administration -- including a repeal of the anti-gun ObamaCare law and the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Operation Fast & Furious.
After meeting with GOA staff, and looking at his entire voting record, we believe Santorum would make good on the above promises. We also believe he would have an "open door" policy with GOA in the future, which would be very helpful for protecting gun rights.
Having said that, he has angered gun owners from time to time, such as when he supported the anti-gun Sen. Arlen Specter in his primary against Pat Toomey in 2004. Santorum’s support helped Specter to narrowly defeat the pro-gun Toomey.
And then there are the times he chose to follow the bad advice from other gun lobbies in the nation’s capital, rather than using the Constitution as his measuring stick. Most of these votes came in the aftermath of the Columbine shooting when some gun lobbies were claiming that worse gun control was going to pass unless Congress passed “something." It’s these votes which help explain Santorum’s B- rating with Gun Owners of America.
Finally, Santorum should get honorable mention for bucking the compromises of other gun lobbies when he voted AGAINST the Gun Free School Zones ban in 1996. To wit, Santorum has pledged to support a full repeal of this ban if he is elected President.
