they can TRY all they want to, but it’s a stinch they will NEVER lose!
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Democrats Try to Shake Anti-Gun Image

By BOB ANEZ
.c The Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Montana Democratic Party Chairman Bob Ream grew up in a home with a grandmother who shot skeet with Annie Oakley. As far back as he can recall, hunting was a family tradition, and just about everyone knew how to shoot.

So it makes sense that Ream is among party loyalists leading efforts to shake off the national party’s anti-gun image.

At trade shows, in brochures and even in door-to-door visits by candidates in the 2002 election, the Montana Democratic Party is doing what some state parties say must be done to repair the damage resulting from the national party’s position in the 2000 election advocating tougher federal gun rules.

“In the rural areas, we’ve gotten targeted with the image that we’re going to take people’s guns away, which is false,” Ream said. “It’s been foisted on us by the NRA (National Rifle Association) and by the Republicans … We’re going to get clobbered if we don’t improve our image.”

The national party in 2000 supported mandatory child safety locks for guns, photo identification for future handgun purchases, full background checks and a mandatory gun safety test for new handgun purchases.

The Democratic National Committee acknowledges the GOP was particularly effective in the last election at branding the party anti-gun, and some Democrats believe the national party and Al Gore should have done more to combat that.

Jennifer Palmieri, press secretary for the DNC, said the national party is encouraging state parties to follow Montana’s lead in trying to reshape voters’ views. The chore belongs at the state level where party officials have more credibility, Palmieri said.

Bill Farmer, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, is convinced Gore lost his home state in 2000 because he did not effectively shake off the GOP’s anti-gun label.

“They’ve painted us a being anti-gun, which is a blatant lie,” he said. “Responsible gun owners are Democrats and Democrats believe in the right to be responsible gun owners.”

Republicans and gun rights groups insist Democrats deserve the anti-gun brand.

Ken Miller, chairman of the Montana GOP, recalled Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., supported the federal law requiring background checks and a five-day waiting period for gun buyers after promising he would not vote for gun control. Democrats, not Republicans, have proposed tougher restrictions on guns, and organizations wanting more controls typically back Democratic candidates, he said.

“It’s hard for a leopard to get rid of its spots,” Miller said. “They will probably do themselves harm. Any time you try to be something you’re not, people will see through it.”

Guns always have been a part of life in Montana. One in five Montanans hunt – some for sport, some to put food on the table. To many farmers and ranchers, the gun remains an essential tool. For others, firearms symbolize freedom and independence.

Democrats are trying to make sure voters know they too understand the gun’s importance to so many in the state.

Lou Kalberg, 47, a Democrat, avid hunter and gun owner from Helena, said he found himself frequently defending his party to fellow hunters during the 2000 election.

“They’d say ‘If Al Gore gets elected, the Democrats are going to try to take my guns,”’ Kalberg said. “I think what scared them is this very effective campaign of lumping all the Democrats together as anti-gun. … People were very paranoid about that.”

The Democrats have to counter that with their own campaign, he said.

Paul Clark, a Democratic state representative whose conservative district in western Montana is home to the Militia of Montana, said his political life depends on his support for gun rights.

“The people around here love their freedom,” he said. “They still perceive the state as a wild place. Who wants to deal with gun control when you have to deal with wolves?”

Montana Democrats have added the right to bear arms to their party platform and jump at the chance to stress the party’s conviction to maintaining hunter and sportsmen’s rights.

Ream said the party created a roundtable of volunteers to map a party strategy on guns, and Ream heads what he calls an informal committee of about 20 members of the Democratic National Committee working on ways to improve the party’s image on firearms.

Democrats hope those efforts help the party make some inroads in the mostly conservative state. Republicans have held the governor’s office and controlled the Legislature since 1995. And voters have supported Democrats for president only twice in the past 55 years.

Ream said the perception of Democrats as anti-gun has taken its toll and sparks enough emotion to decide close races in favor of GOP candidates.

Craig Wilson, who runs the political science department at Montana State University-Billings, said emotion surrounding firearms can dictate the outcome of races, especially in the West.

“Our cowboy heritage leads to gun control being a big enough issue to affect the way a person votes,” he said.