This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Burling: Like Brown, I Support Assault Weapons Ban

The View From Squag City

Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and I don’t have a lot of political positions in common, but one that we do share may make for some interesting controversy in New Hampshire over the next few months. While he was in Massachusetts, Brown supported a ban on assault rifles, as I did here in New Hampshire early in my first term.  My support for that idea was a political disaster that cost me an election; will it be the same for Brown?

Properly put, the question before us is this: “How will Scott Brown’s Massachusetts position on guns play out in the upcoming Republican primary for the New Hampshire Senate race?”  I remember very clearly how badly I was mauled for my support of an assault rifle restriction.  At the time, I was advised to get private security, because a group of people in my community were so angry that physical violence was a possibility.  Will the same kind of vehemence face Brown as a result of his departure from Second Amendment orthodoxy?

It has been reported that Brown has been brushing aside questions about his current position on Second Amendment  Rights.  When one person asked about his ideas, Brown said he didn’t have time to explain his current view. Another questioner was told that he, Brown, would have to get back to him.  The reporting suggests that candidate Brown has not yet figured out how to deny what he did down in Massachusetts, now that he wants to graft himself onto the political world of the Granite State. 

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Good luck with that.  The Republican establishment may be willing to overlook everything, including Brown’s status as the carpetbagger “du jure”, but I doubt that the gun owners of New Hampshire will be so forgiving.  I do doubt it.  But if they do give Brown a pass on his Massachusetts gun position, they will simply have proved how unprincipled they have become for this election cycle.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?