For Immediate Release:                                                                  Contact: Press Office
April 7, 2008                                                                                                (202) 479-7070

Shea-Porter’s Posturing on Gun Issue Backfires
Carol Shea-Porter Won’t Oppose Gun Ban, Despite Claiming to Support 2nd Amendment Rights

Washington- Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) has been in Washington, D.C. just over a year, and already she is siding with liberals who oppose the 2nd Amendment. Shea-Porter, who was elected in 2006, is the only member of the New Hampshire delegation not to sign an amicus brief that would overturn a law banning gun ownership in the District of Columbia.  However, her refusal to support the constitutional right to own a gun may backfire politically in the “Live Free or Die” state of New Hampshire.

This morning’s editorial in New Hampshire’s Union Leader expresses the growing impatience among Shea-Porter’s constituency for her inability to take a stand on the gun issue: 

“Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has a gun problem.”

“Specifically, she seems unsure of her position on the 2nd Amendment. She has always proclaimed herself a supporter of the 2nd Amendment's declaration that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ It is what she thinks that statement means, however, that is unclear.”

“Every member of New Hampshire's congressional delegation except Carol Shea-Porter signed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs in their effort to overturn the ban.”

When asked to clarify her position, Carol Shea-Porter continued to dodge the issue, failing to support her claim that she supports the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution:

“...if you have no opinion on whether ‘states’ rights’ trump the 2nd Amendment, then you don't support the 2nd Amendment, which guarantees the individual right to bear arms in self defense. What other constitutional rights does Rep. Shea-Porter think states can override?”

“It didn’t take long for Carol Shea-Porter to abandon her beliefs, once she moved to Washington, D.C.,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.  “Shea-Porter’s refusal to support the constitutional right for citizens to own a gun shows how out-of touch she is with New Hampshire voters who elected her to represent their interests.”