Weak enough that she’s begun full-scale pandering to the gun lobby.

Senator Blanche Lincoln announced today that she’ll seek to enact into law a Bush administration rule that has been challenged in court — allowing carrying of concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges. The professional employees of the National Park Service have stoutly opposed allowing concealed guns. What do they know about providing a safe and pleasant experience for American vacationers?

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Lincoln engages, again, in her propensity to dishonestly frame issues by saying her bill would “restore Second Amendment gun rights.” It does no such thing. It merely creates a new privilege for gun people.

The gun nuts believe the Second Amendment is absolute and without qualification, despite centuries of court rulings to the contrary. There ARE places where guns may be prohibited. There ARE certain types of weapons that may be prohibited in civilian hands. There ARE permissible reporting, permit and sale requirements. Among others, the Second Amendment allows the government to limit guns in parks and it did so far years, until the waning hours of the Bush administration. The Congress may change the policy if it chooses. 

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The senator need not prevaricate or exaggerate in the course of pandering to the NRA, but she’s done it on the estate tax and there’s no reason to expect better from her on this important voter niche — the angry white male. Oddly, since she’s always been pro-gun, polls show it is her weakest voter segment. Thus today’s blast.

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