FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2008

Tim Fox comments calls on Bullock to come clean on gun rights

(Helena) – Citing his strong commitment to 2nd Amendment Rights, Republican Attorney General candidate Tim Fox today expressed his agreement with the US Supreme Court’s decision that the DC gun ban is unconstitutional and called on his opponent to come clean on his gun rights positions.

This historic decision, the first definitive verdict on the Second Amendment’s guarantee of gun rights in US history, struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year old ban on handguns.  Earlier this year, Tim Fox requested that Attorney General Mike McGrath intervene in the case to make sure Montana’s views were represented in the deliberations.  After urging from Fox, McGrath did eventually file an amicus brief in the case.
“I consider this a victory for American and certainly for all Montana gun owners,” said Fox.  “I’m proud to have been a part of this process by working with the Attorney General’s office to get Montana’s amicus brief filed.  However, I do have to express a certain amount of frustration that it took my prodding to get it done.  We need an attorney general who will aggressively lead the charge in making sure Montana’s views are represented.  If I’m elected attorney general, Montana will be leading the charge on these issues, not following the pack.”

The attorney general has the power to influence federal litigation through the filing of amicus briefs and direct litigation.  He also has the power to influence federal policy by filing formal comments on regulations and legislation.  Fox emphasized that if he is elected attorney general, he will be much more proactive in using this power to represent Montana’s positions on important issues like gun rights, access to public lands, water pollution, and civil liberties.  Fox also recently criticized the current attorney general for not intervening in a recent US Supreme Court case that ruled that state statutes allowing for the death penalty in child rape cases, like the law in Montana, are unconstitutional.

Fox also pointed out that though the court’s DC gun ban opinion is a tremendously positive decision, gun rights are still threatened.   Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has an extremely negative record on gun legislation, including voting to ban shotguns used for hunting and to ban handguns.  Obama voted against a bill that would have protected homeowners from prosecution in cases where a gun was used to defend the home, and he completely avoided taking a position on the DC gun ban case.

“Obama could be the next president of the United States, and he’s way to the left of the mainstream on gun rights,” said Fox.  “It should raise questions in all Montanans’ minds about where, specifically, the candidates for Attorney General stand on various aspects of their 2nd Amendment rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.  It’s important that Montana voters know what their candidates believe.  I strongly believe in gun rights, and I call on Mr. Bullock to come out of the shadows and finally announce his position.”

Tim Fox’s gun rights positions:

  • Believes the Second Amendment guarantees an individual, not collective, right.
  • Believes that the solution to violent crime is to enforce existing laws that punish criminals who use firearms and other weapons in the commission crimes, not through taking away gun rights from individual citizens.
  • Opposes banning the lawful manufacture, private possession, ownership, purchase, sale, and or/transfer of any firearm.
  • Opposes firearm registration.
  • Opposes state licensing of firearm owners.
  • Opposes legislation mandating the unproven ballistic “fingerprinting” of firearm before they can be sold in Montana.
  • Opposes legislation further restricting firearm sales by individuals at gun shows.
  • Opposes lawsuits suing firearm manufacturers for liability when one of their manufactured guns is used in commission of a crime.
  • Opposes restrictions on possession and transportation of firearms in national parks beyond the restriction currently in Montana law.
  • Supports “worker protection” legislation that would allow law-abiding citizens to keep lawfully transported firearms locked in their personal vehicles while parked on publicly accessible, privately owned parking lots.
  • Believes all law abiding citizens should be allowed to carry a concealed handgun on state college and university campuses.
  • Believes hunting is a valuable tool in wildlife management, a positive use of natural resources, and an American tradition that should be preserved.

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