Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates

[mons-meg]

Oklahoma Pro RKBA gubernatorial candidates

I realize that Steve Largent got a good grade from the GOA as far as 2A issues go, but I thought I would share a response to a question I sent to the Gary Richardson campaign. Gary is a Tulsa attorney (former US attorney) running as an independent.

Here is my question:

I am a registered Democrat who was going to vote for Mr. Largent.
After the Channel 9 debate, I decided to read the Richardson plan. I am
seriously considering changing over to Mr. Richardson, but I have a couple
questions:

1) What is Mr. Richardson's take on the 2nd amendment? I am not a hunter or
sportsman; I own guns for recreational shooting and personal protection. I
need to know if Gary will support *all* my civil rights.

And here is the response I got back within 72 hours (emphasis added by me):

Hey Jay,

Thank you so much for considering our vision for Oklahoma. My dad
absolutely opposes gun control! Like the old saying goes, if guns are
outlawed then only outlaws will have them. Dad also thinks that we should
review the laws that currently abridge our rights to bear arms to see if
they are accomplishing their goal. If they're not, then we should get rid
of them.

Now I realize Steve Largent got the good GOA rating, but I don't think he was in congress long enough to have been in on many of the gun realted votes, so it's hard to tell. I was just wondering if anyone has heard such a candid pro RKBA position from nay of the other candidates involved. Kind of refreshing. Thoughts?

Edit: I just realized that in the quote above I "outed" myself on this forum as a registered Democrat...

 

[OK Bart]

I am not terribly excited about any of the "goober" candidates but I am leaning toward Richardson. I wanted to vote for Largent but I think his "bull****" answer to the reporter a couple of weeks ago exposed him as a Keating clone and I absolutely do not want that. Henry is just another liberal lawyer, like most of the Demos in the legislature...making law to improve his "day" job.

That Richardson is also a lawyer does not make me feel good about him, either. We need a column for "None of the Above"

 

[mons-meg]

I actually read his 33 page plan, and I must say I thought it looked pretty good. He wants to consolidate several state agencies to cut down on redundant administration...something that we desperately need, IMO. Also, sure would be nice if we weren't the "turnpike state".

Of the three, I think he is the most likely to actually do something of substance around here. We'll see how he does.

 

[Jack T.]

My problem with Henry and Richardson is that both of them favor a lottery. After all, "it's for the children", i.e., education. However, liquor by the drink was supposed to dump millions into education, and pari-mutuel (sp) gambling was supposed to dump millions into education, and now we are hearing the same arguments for the lottery.

 

[mons-meg]

I kinda thought the same thing at first, but RIchardson is talking about using the Oregon model for an Oklahoma lottery. By statute, all proceeds from the lottery would go towards education in various ways, including scholarships for in state students. Something to think about.

 

[mons-meg]

I just received another reply from Mr. Richardson's son, stating that he (Gary Richardson) would be in favor of Vermont-style concealed carry. Hmmm.

 

[Futo Inu]

I did exactly the same thing a few days ago - after reading the entire plan, I noticed an absence of anything pro-gun. I emailed Richardson's campaign about the lack of a public stance on 2A. I too then received a reply from his son, stating that he is very pro-gun and would look to repeal laws that are ineffective. However, this is just lip service as far as I'm concerned. I will NOT vote for him, because he didn't take a PUBLIC stance on the issue - I saw NO amendment to that Adobe document off the website. If there's one thing we should have learned by now about politicians, it's that you don't have a chance of making them look bad after a flip flop unless you have a public stance. There's a REASON this issue is not in his extensive "plan". I'm voting for Largent. FWIW, Largent gets A+ rating from NRA, Richardson an A. Don't know how the NRA knows that - probably from the questionnaire sent to him, but this is not "public" enough for my reasons. Largent is endorsed by NRA and had a big booth at the Wannamacher show with his picture and a shotgun slung over his shoulder. I doubt he's truly a heart-felt pro-gun type, but hey, he's the second all-time leading NFL receiver, right? (unless he's been passed recently).