Pro-gun Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, who was endorsed by the NRA in 2010 and 2012, had an AR-15 rifle stolen from the garage to her unlocked residence last week. The rifle reportedly belonged to her son. According to the police chief investigating the case, her husband and son had been out target shooting, brought the gun back, and leaned it against the gun safe. The garage door was left unsecured.
Ellmers was first elected to Congress in the Tea Party wave of 2010, and she was one of Sarah Palin’s “Mama Grizzlies”. She has been a controversial figure ever since she denounced a proposed Muslim Cultural Center in New York City as a “victory mosque” in reference to the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
The NRA has twice endorsed Ellmers, declaring that she would “help build a pro-gun firewall around our Second Amendment rights.” Ellmers has long been a staunch opponent of gun control measures. In a March interview she stated:
The president really wants a vote on banning some of the firearms, and I’m not sure where it’s going to go. I think I know that we are going to protect gun rights at all costs, because people in this country just believe in that.
Unfortunately she seems somewhat less committed to making sure gun owners act responsibly as evidenced by her family’s failure to secure an AR-15 after using it. Although Ellmers was in Washington DC when the gun was stolen, the incident promises to prove at least mildly embarrassing to a Congresswoman whose web site proclaims:
Although she believes that gun owners must be responsible for the use and care of their guns, she does not want to see law-abiding gun owners penalized for the actions of criminals. It has become far too easy to place blame on guns, and their accessibility, rather than the criminals themselves. Currently, there are nineteen laws on the books regulating gun purchases and use but more legislation will not result in safer streets, offices or schoolyards. To that end, she is opposed to any measures that would impose further limitations on the right to bear arms. She stands behind our Constitution and the fundamental rights that the Second Amendment affords to all Americans. She will continue to vote to safeguard the liberties of gun owners and to stand up for your freedom to own and purchase firearms.
The problem for Ms. Ellmers, and her NRA supporters, is that they seem more concerned about the right to have a gun then they are about responsibly handling and securing the gun. While she may give lip service to “responsible gun owners”, her families actions speak louder than words. For that reason, today another criminal has acquired an AR-15 thanks to the carelessness of Congresswoman Ellmers’ family.
Edited by SS
