After a couple of weeks of back-and-forth about who’s better on the issue of guns, the 2nd Congressional District candidates have both been given “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association and are both touting gun-related endorsements.
The Second Amendment recently became a focus of the race when Republican candidate Ed Tinsley began airing a television ad attacking Democratic opponent Harry Teague for controversial remarks a newspaper quoted him as making eight years ago.
Teague was quoted by the Albuquerque Journal in 2000 as saying he is “not a gun fan” though he owns seven or eight and it would be “fine with me to turn my guns in and don’t have them.” Teague now says the remarks were facetious — which was not indicated in the article — and that portions of the quotes were left out, including the portion of the statement about it being fine with him to give up his guns as long as “they give me a key to the armory.”
Since Tinsley’s ad began airing, the candidates have been sparring about who is better on the Second Amendment. This week, the NRA weighed in on that question when it gave both candidates its highest ranking, then endorsed Tinsley.
In a news release announcing the NRA endorsement, the Tinsley campaign provided no statement from the candidate about the group’s backing, but the release did state that Tinsley “has been a consistent supporter of the Second Amendment since before seeking public office, hunting on his Capitan ranch which has been in his family for 50 years.” The release states that Tinsley is one of two federal candidates in
Meanwhile, Teague touted his rating from the NRA in his own news release, saying that it “matches my longstanding support for gun rights. As a proud gun owner, and as your next congressman, I will stand strong everyday for the Second Amendment and I will go to Congress to fight for the values of
Teague’s release didn’t mention that the NRA chose to endorse his opponent, but it did point out that Teague was endorsed on Friday by the American Hunters and Shooters Association, a hunting and conservation group that is highly critical of the NRA.
“We are proud to endorse Harry Teague,” the association’s president, Ray Schoenke, said in the release. “As a gun owner and avid hunter, he knows that you need both a gun and a place to hunt, so he will protect our Second Amendment rights and protect our wild lands.”