I think everyone agrees that this will be a very close race. It could come down to single issue voters again and in the debate last night Kerry again tried to walk the fence between supporting the 2nd Amendment and claiming he is a hunter against the Democratic platform of gun control. The fact that Kerry misrepresented the facts again referring to AK47s during the debate which are fully automatic communist military assault rifles when the ban was about semi-automatic guns that had comsmetic features only points to the continued misrepresentation of facts that go on with gun control. Kerry is a co-sponsor of a new Senate bill to re-instate the "assault weapons" bill but this time to include all semi-automatic receivers built into any gun with a "pistol grip". A "pistol grip" does not have to be on a pistol, it is a description of a point on a gun stock where your hand has a conformation point to hold the gun and virtually all guns have one. This means that all of our traditional semi-automatic shotguns, like my Browning 3" mag that I am going to use this afternoon for duck hunting, will become illegal. It means the gun Kerry was holding at the Wisconsin gun club after shooting some trap will become illegal and I doubt he even realizes this.
Kerry is not a hunter. His description of his deer hunting experiences was a joke. And his voting record is 100% anti 2nd Amendment earning him a 100% support from all the anti gun organizations.
Keep in mind how dumb the "assault weapons" ban was. It banned some semi-automatic guns because they looked like something else. The argument was that these guns had no purpose other than to kill people. Simply not true. Keep in mind most, if not all, of these banned semi-automatic guns would be legal for hunting in Ct. for certain game in certain seasons. For example, the smaller calibers for coyote and the larger calibers (over 6mm or .243) for deer. They may not look like a hunting rifle but they were legal to hunt with.
I simply can't understand why either party continues to push platforms that have positions on major issues that are important to large portions of our citizens. This is the purest form of disrespect and arrogance. The republicans push personal responsibility and limited government interference but not pro-choice alienating huge populations of women and flying in the face of Roe vs: Wade. Democrats push gun control alienating 20 million hunters and 60 million gun owners and in the process losing key southern states in national elections and flying in the face of the 2nd Amendment. If the democrats had a more reasonable platform on gun control they would win this election. If they lose it, it will be because of gun control and the fact that this issue demonstates Kerry's lack of trust. Few believe Kerry is a hunter or a supporter of the 2nd Amendment.
I just don't understand how major political parties can produce platforms that are not moderate enough to include all groups of people. The divisiveness in the country will not go away until the disenfranchised, whatever the issue, can again be included in the platform.