Ron Paul draws support among Pennsylvania's gun crowd

ALBURTIS, Pa .--This small Pennsylvania town outside of Allentown plays host this weekend to a major regional gun show, which drew scores of enthusiasts to the cramped community center here.

It was a fine leisurely opportunity for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, or at least their campaigns, to put in an appearance and talk about their stance on gun rights.

Both candidates, in fact, have said they support some sort of individual right to own a gun--with limits, of course. (They haven't been all that clear on what those limits are.)

Maybe it's just as well they didn't come. No Obamania or Hill-raisers here. "They can say whatever they want," said local resident David Hinkle. "They're trying to appease people. We don't believe them."

Many in the crowd believed Clinton or Obama are equally likely to attempt to regulate firearms. And honestly, there was true passion for only one presidential candidate here.

Yep. Ron Paul, the 72-year-old about-to-be 11-term representative from Texas who raised some $34 million and drew....

some 800,000 votes in Republican primaries this season, although amassing only a handful of delegates.

One Paulunteer, a member of one of the 1,400 Ron Paul meet-up groups that coagulated since last spring across the country, was passing out leaflets, which listed in detail Paul's support for gun rights. The Republican with the libertarian ideas is opposed to banning assault weapons, or mandating trigger locks, or anything that gets gun-rights activists up in, well, arms.

As for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee who already has enough delegates to ensure his convention victory? People here really aren't too fond of him either. One gun dealer said McCain has "spent too much time with Teddy Kennedy."  Which sounded to him like a bad thing.

There was near unanimous agreement that the Arizona senator hadn't yet proved his conservative bona fides. For one thing, unlike Paul, McCain supports the Iraq war. And McCain is not in favor of abolishing numerous federal government departments as well as the Federal Reserve, as you will hear from any Ron Paul supporter. (See photo below)

"McCain's going to have to find a good running mate," Hinkle said. He suggested former candidate Mitt Romney.

While gun rights haven't played a major role in the election campaigns to date, that may change when the Supreme Court issues its ruling in a case that challenges Washington, D.C.'s total ban on handguns.

It will be the first time in modern legal jurisprudence that the nation's highest court has addressed the scope of the Second Amendment. That decision is expected sometime by early summer, which gives it many months to get going before the Nov. 4 general election, including the start of hunting season in many places.

--James Oliphant

James Oliphant writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune Washington Bureau.

Dedicated supporters of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas campaign energetically for their candidate in Paris before discovering that French people cannot vote in the November American election.

                                                                           

Comments

[TJ]

It is the individuals responsibility to be safe with guns. Not the federal government. How about cracking down on the people who push guns into the inner city. As alwasy we have plenty of laws already on the books to deal with problems. They just have to be enforced.

[EdwardK]

There is only one that will SAVE AMERICA that is Dr. Ron Paul
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/

Delegates not happy with McCain, please at the Convention think before you vote,
if you want more WARS and more Government Intervention. Delegates of Romney,
Huckabee, Giuliani and Thompson please consider Ron Paul.

Also McCain said he knows nothing about or how to save our Economy.

[Brent]

no individual needs assault guns to protect his home, thats just ridiculous

[tim, minnesota]

McCain only has about 585 delegates to date. Please provide accurate information. In fact in Minnesota yesterday 6 of the 9 congressional national delegates went to Ron Paul along with 8 alternates. McCain is not liked andis losing support around the country. We are a long way from the National Convention.

[Jim]

Our Day of Reckoning is soon upon us. I suggest we all investigate joining our local state miltias in defense of liberty. Eventually our economy will collapse and we'll be forced to stomach the NAU and the Amero. No doubt there is a war on the individual in this country and it will be up to us only, as Americans, to stand up for our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Too bad we're too dumb in this country to recognize a real Patriot, Ron Paul.
God be with us.

[Andy White]

History shows us that Ron Paul still has a chance of securing the nomination come September. Lincoln went into convention with very few delegates. Polk and Buchanan had none. The REVOLUTION lives on!

[lastnymleft]

Though possibly facetious, the caption for your photo, above:

"Dedicated supporters of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas campaign energetically for their candidate in Paris before discovering that French people cannot vote in the November American election."

...is an inappropriate attempt to belittle Dr Paul's supporters.

Dr Paul has sparked a r3V0Lutionary movement that is international in scope, and shows of passionate support from around the world are commonplace for Dr Paul. Can any of the other candidates claim such passionate support? NO. You need look no further than: http://www.whowouldtheworldelect.com/

It is also a reflection that the choices we make, as US citizens, affects more than ourselves, here in the US. We should at least be mindful that our decisions have global consequences. We carry a lot of responsibility. Choose wisely. Choose Dr Ron Paul.

[DanielC]

Brent,

Have you seen the guns the police, national guard, army, marines and such have in their hands?

When, if, they are called to remove anyone that does not follow the line of the governing class, you will be wishing you had a few assault rifles to keep your family out of the camps. Heck, it would be nice to have an old sherman tank. *wink*

Thanks for the story on Ron Paul. I do notice a real difference in the wording when it's not coming from Mr. Malcolm. Not once did you mention, "hopeless campaign".

ttfn,

dsc

[blakmira]

Re: comment "no individual needs assault guns to protect his home, thats just ridiculous" --

Dear Brent:

Protect your home against burglars? Nope, that's not what you'll be needing those assault rifles for. But how about when the U.S. military kicks in the door of your home one day because your angry neighbor has turned you in for being a "war protestor" or a suspected terrorist?

They don't need a warrant to get in any more. Nor will you get a day in court. That's what Bush's nice little Patriot Act has taken care of (endorsed by Obama, McCain and Hillary, may I add).

You might also want to do a little reading up on Martial Law, or check out the bills that Bush has been quietly pushing through, making anyone protesting the war equivalent to a terrorist.

Or simply check out a film called "America: Freedom to Fascism" and see what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina to the citizens, who were doing nothing more than refusing to evacuate their undamaged homes.

We want our freedoms back! We want our country back!

Ron Paul is still here!
We are Ron Paul!

[ART DEKKO]

WE WILL VOTE.....AND ONLY FOR RON PAUL.

PERIOD.

[StupidSnideRemarks]

"Dedicated supporters of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas campaign energetically for their candidate in Paris before discovering that French people cannot vote in the November American election."

Stupid snide remark from some ignorant fool with no clue that expats can and do vote in sizable numbers in US elections. You should try getting out beyond those trailer park gates.

[Tom deSabla]

"Ron Paul, the 72-year-old about-to-be 11-term representative from Texas who raised some $34 million and drew....some 800,000 votes in Republican primaries this season"

Ok, well here's what I say - you Tickheads have done at least 10 Paul articles. I would trade all ten for 4 positive front page articles in NYTImes WashPost LATimes and Washtimes. That's 4 total instead of the 8 to 30 each that all the other candidates got. Just 4 is all it would have taken to get people interested.

We didn't get 4. We got 1, below the fold, when he set the fundraising record, calling him a long shot.

That's it. No follow up articles. No series. No nothing.

By contrast, Bloomberg has gotten more actual news ink than Ron Paul, and he's not even running. Rudy got more, and he literally had almost no supporters at all and Paul was trouncing him. That should have been a story too, but it wasn't, for some unknown reason.

No, you can't compare raising 34 million dollars to being in the newspapers every day. Not at all.

Let's look at it - you think 34 million is so much? There are over 200 million voting age people in this country. Ron Paul didn't even have enough money to mail them all one stinking first class letter each.

Yet, because of their being part of the mainstream NEWS (not blog) cycle, almost all of these potential voters knew who the OTHER candidates raising that kind of money were, and were treated to a constant stream of articles about those other candidates, but not Ron Paul. Those streams of articles about Huckabee, Obama, Romney, Giuliani, Edwards, etc, benefited those candidates WITHOUT THEM SPENDING A DIME ON IT.

Being in the paper is worth BILLIONS as it translates into votes. When you're not in the news cycle - you're blacked out baby, and 34 million can't even begin to pierce that blackout.

Get real please.

[THOMAS G]

BECOME A DELEGATE OR RON PAUL WILL NOT BE PRESIDENT!!!!!!!

You can sign up to be a delegate on
R O N P A U L 2 0 0 8 . C O M

****look for the BECOME A RON PAUL DELEGATE sign up box on the top right of the homepage where Ron Paul's face is****

YOU can help change the course of this nation for the better! YOU can be a hero!

He still has a VERY good chance of getting the nomination in a brokered convention! This is how Lincoln won!

PLEASE! We need you!

[Josh]

Re: comment "no individual needs assault guns to protect his home, thats just ridiculous.

Brent,

"Assault weapons" usually include any semi-automatic weapons. Under most of these laws I would not be allowed a shotgun to protect my home from intruders .do you want to stop and pump in a new shell at 4 A.M. with your life on the line? Whil emanaging to sound nutty, some of the earlier posts were actually right-on, the purpose of the second amendment is to allow a defense against an overzealous, or tyrannical government. Remember your history, and the mindset of the constitutions' writers, and this will be very clear to you.

[MikeZ]

Brent posted
>>no individual needs assault guns to protect
>> his home, thats just ridiculous

The Jews in Germany could have used some weapons. The Poles in Warsaw could have used some weapons.

Government tyranny is world-wide, forever. During hurricane Katrina the peaceful citizens were disarmed by our gov't, which thus made those peaceful citizens unable to defend themselves from thugs and looters. The police surely weren't protecting anyone.

"Defenseless On the Bayou"
"New Orleans gun confiscation is foolish and illegal"
http://www.reason.com/news/show/32966.html

Brent, maybe you don't care enough to prepare to protect yourself and your family. OK, it's your right to ignore the history of gov't tyranny, but don't try to remove my right to defend myself and my family.
Thank you.