We love our guns here in the Great Land. Alaska is one of the top five states with the highest number of guns per capita. As I always point out, up here in the valley even the hippies have guns and know how to employ them. Most of us aren’t too worried about human predators, although they do happen. Most Alaskans own guns for sustenance and to ward off the occasional vast, hairy animal.
But we also know that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or fending off vast, toothy animals, so it’s a surprise that the National Rifle Association is endorsing Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska. for re-election(Full disclosure: My wife and I have both been lifetime members of the NRA since the mid-1990s.)
Peltola is Alaska’s only female representative and an advocate of the Second Amendment. Campaign websiteShe said she owns 176 long guns and dares “anyone to trample on Alaska’s freedom.”
In a statement to The Hill, she said she campaigned on a “pro-freedom platform” in 2022 and continues to do so today.
“Guns are an integral part of Alaskan culture and our way of life,” Peltola said. “Guns [owners] are the strongest advocates of responsible gun ownership. We pass on our knowledge and skills to our children.”
Peltola argued that the support could help the country understand Alaskan culture and recognize “the importance of the Second Amendment to communities.”
That’s not what Mary said a few years ago, though. From the Great Land, Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing had this to say:
Just two years ago, the NRA gave Peltola a grade of “D.” And now a recommendation? What has changed? Even the Gun Owners of America gave Peltola an “F.”
Peltola calls for gun control measures, such as universal background checks, waiting periods and gun storage laws.
Accordingly The Washington Post in 2022: “During her campaign, Peltola said she wanted a national law protecting abortion rights and supported some gun control measures, such as universal background checks.” (Azi Paybarah, “Who is Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native in Congress?”)
On a questionnaire for the Anchorage Daily News, Peltola supported universal background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases.
Representative Peltola has changed her mind on this issue from the beginning and is apparently trying to hammer the square peg of her home state, where gun ownership prevails, into the round hole of the national Democratic Party. Suzanne Downing was points out since 2020:
Before this week, she said the Second Amendment, the right of Americans to own firearms, was intended for hunting. She said stricter gun laws need to be implemented. She advocated locking guns in safes at home.
In her latest ad, Peltola says the Second Amendment is designed to “protect ourselves and our food from wild animals.”
Let’s put that aside for a moment while Mary Peltola keeps changing her mind. She’s just another Democratic politician from a Republican state desperate to keep her job. She clearly doesn’t understand why we have a Second Amendment, but that’s not too much of a surprise. What’s baffling about all of this is the NRA’s support. The NRA has outlined its support as follows:
Randy Kozuch, chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund, said they support candidates who “support and defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” regardless of the candidates’ party affiliation.
“In Congress, Rep. Peltola has supported efforts to curb ATF overreach, voted for legislation supporting veterans’ Second Amendment rights, and voted to protect traditional ammunition,” Kozuch said in a statement to The Hill. “Given her strong support for gun rights and law-abiding gun owners, the NRA-PVF is proud to support Rep. Peltola for re-election.”
So the National Rifle Association, which gave Representative Peltola a “D” on gun rights just two years ago, is now claiming that she was a “strong advocate for gun rights”?
Are mandatory background checks on private sales — which most Alaskans will frankly ignore — “supporting gun rights?” Peltola supports mandatory waiting periods and mandatory “safe” storage — those things are not “supporting gun rights.” And while she has been pretty unclear about banning “assault weapons,” one has to wonder if she would support her constituents’ preferences or those of the Democratic Party if the situation arose.
Which brings us back to the NRA and begs the question: “What the hell, NRA?”
See also: National Rifle Association reaches agreement with DC Attorney General and promises to reform charity arm
Supreme Court awards NRA and freedom a major victory over government censorship and harassment
Granted, the NRA has always been focused on the Second Amendment. It is a single-issue organization, so its support does not take into account other things that are significant to Alaskans, such as energy production. But that does not make this support any less baffling when there are Republican candidates who are much more reliably pro-gun and who actually understand what the Second Amendment means.
And I remind you, there are Alternatives to the NRAAnd as an Alaskan, all I can say to the NRA is: “Thanks for nothing.”
