Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
After she voted against an amendment that would have limited the right of states to regulate concealed guns, Missouri’s Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill came under fire this week from a little-known gay conservative political group that accused her of using “anti-gay scare tactics” to justify her vote.
In an interview with Missouri radio stations, McCaskill explained her opposition to the measure that would have extended concealed-carry laws by calling the bill “a foot in the door that would require, for example, the laws in Vermont on gay marriage to be enforced in Missouri.”
That statement prompted the chairman of a conservative group called GOProud, to tell St. Louis Post Dispatch, “We think it’s shameful for Sen. McCaskill, who holds herself out as a friend of the gay community, to use tactics that liberals would say are right out of Karl Rove’s playbook.”
In response to the criticism, McCaskill's office issued the following statement Thursday to clarify her remarks:
In talking about my recent vote against the gun provision offered in the Senate, I wasn’t clear when I stated that my vote against that provision was because it came down to a states’ rights. I was expressing my frustration in that some who argue that states shouldn’t respect the laws, certificates, or permits from other states when it’s convenient, like with gay marriage, but then argue that they should when it’s convenient on another issue, like gun rights. They can’t have it both ways.
Senator criticized by conservative gay group clarifies remarks on gay marriage [contd.]
GOProud is an offshoot of Log Cabin Republicans, according the Post Dispatch. It describes itself as “the nation's only organization representing gay conservatives and their allies.”
The bill McCaskill voted against would have essentially federalized the laws in the 48 states where people can get permits to carry concealed weapons. With some limitations, it would have allowed anyone with a permit from any state to carry concealed weapons in another state without getting a permit there.
The guns amendment, which was supported by most Republican senators and by the National Rifle Association, received 58 votes yesterday but needed 60 to pass.
McCaskill was not among the 20 Democrats who voted for the amendment.
On its website, the GOProud says its members are “committed to a traditional conservative agenda that emphasizes limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and a confident foreign policy.”
In the group’s statement criticizing McCaskill for her vote, GOProud’s executive director, Jimmy LaSalvia, wrote, “McCaskill’s anti-gay rhetoric is not only shameful, it’s also a complete and total fallacy.”
Like the NRA, LaSalvia claimed that the amendment would not have affected the rights of states to set their own rules. “The conceal carry amendment wouldn’t have forced a single state to change its laws,” he asserted. “Indeed, the amendment specifically spelled out that reciprocity would only be granted to individuals who met the requirements of the state they were traveling to.”
Source: Gay conservatives mad at McCaskill on guns | St Louis Post Dispatch