Rep. Paul Ryan got a perfect A+ despite voting in favor of background checks and gun storage requirements. Last year, he said that he would be open to cutting a deal with gun control groups to close the so-called “gun show loophole.”
Rep. Dave Reichert got an A despite sneaking a proposal through the House in 2011 that would have opened the door to a federal gun registry. The amendment required the Government Accounting Office to “conduct a study of the ability of state and local law enforcement authorities to verify the validity of [gun] licenses or permits.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell got an A + despite having voted for gun storage requirements, trigger locks and other gun control measures.
Meanwhile, Rep. Justin Amash got a B- despite being one of the most principled conservatives in Congress and an uncompromising supporter of gun rights.
Rep. Rob Woodall, also a strict constitutionalist and an equally strong supporter of the Second Amendment, also got a B.
These ratings show how the NRA uses the ratings system to reward its allies and punish anyone who stands up to them.
The NRA turned on Amash, Woodall and several other conservative Republicans in 2011 when they refused to support the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Amash and Woodall opposed the bill on pro-gun, Constitutional grounds because they feared it would “hurt rights by conceding broad new authority to the federal government to override state sovereignty.”
Specifically, they criticized the bill’s reliance on the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which gives the federal government power to regulate interstate commerce and subvert states’ rights. Amash and Woodall didn’t want to give the government more power over guns than it already has.
Now the NRA is punishing Woodall and Amash because they stood up for their principles, while rewarding mainstream politicians like Reichert who not only compromise on gun rights but also actively work against them.
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