Help me vote Pro-Gun! Not familiar with candidates on ballot!

[I'm updating this list by highlighting Pro-Gun candidates, as they are determined, in order to help others]

Hi all,

I'm an expatriate U.S. Citizen living in Thailand and registered to vote absentee in Florida. I just got my ballot but don't know who is Pro-Second Amendment or Anti-Gun. Please share your thoughts about any particular candidate:

United States Senator:

- Connie Mack (Rep) [NRA "A" Rating]
- Bill Nelson (Dem) [GOA "F" Rating]

Representative in Congress District 13:

- C. W. Bill Young (Rep) [NRA-endorsed]
- Jessica Ehrlich (Dem)

State Senator District 22

- Jeff Brands (Rep) [NRA-endorsed]

State Representative Distrit 69:

- Kathleen Peters (Rep) [Endorsed by NRA]
- Josh Shulman (Dem)

Sheriff:

- Bob Guatleri (Rep) [Despite being NRA rated "A", he actively opposes open carry! DO NOT VOTE for Guatleri]
- Scott Swope (Dem) [NRA rated "AQ" - Swope is on the record as supporting open carry!]

Supervisor of Elections:

- Deborah Clark (Rep)
- Jack Killingsworth (Dem)

Board of County Commissioners District 1:

- Neil Brickfield (Rep)
- Janet C. Long (Dem) [NRA rated "F"]

Board of County Commissioners District 3:

- Nancy Bostock (Rep)
- Charlie Justice (Dem) [NRA rated "F"]

Sitting Judges (which of the following shall be retained in office?):

- R. Fred Lewis [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Barbara J. Parlente [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Peggy A. Quince [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Anthony K. Black (recommend yes)
- Darryl C. Casanueva (recommend no)
- Charles A. Davis, Jr. (recommend yes)
- Edward C. LaRose (recommend yes)

School Board member District 1:

- Janet R. Clark (recommend no)
- Elliot Stern (recommend yes)

Thanks!

PS. The NRA-PVF site seems to be blocked by my ISP here in Thailand (censorship apparently). So I can't access the NRA recommendations for Florida.

[I'm updating this list by highlighting Pro-Gun candidates as they are determined to help others]

Well I've received help from several FloridaCarry.org members and also from Marion Hammer. I have edited the above to reflect the status of candidates whose stance on the 2nd Amendment has been discovered. I'll continue to post updates and hope this list helps others.

Please be sure to vote a big fat "NO" on retaining the 3 sitting Florida Supreme Court judges as they are all solidly anti-gun.

Thanks for the update.

AD

Might want to check the GOA's scorecard, neighbor... ;-)

It looks like you have a good track. Bob Guatleri is a problem.

StogieC said:

It looks like you have a good track. Bob Guatleri is a problem.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Folks I know in the area (staunch conservatives, all) are supporting Swope over Guatleri for Sherf.

rvrctyrngr said:

Agreed. Folks I know in the area (staunch conservatives, all) are supporting Swope over Guatleri for Sherf.

Click to expand...

Ok, so Swope it is. I'll inform my Dad too. He normally votes straight Rep, but I'll clue him in on Guatleri.

Copied from FloridaCarry.org (thanks Rich):

Open Carry Laws

The Florida Legislature is considering a law that would permit more leniencies with open carry laws, which would allow more people to carry weapons openly in public places.

Three candidates, Pound, Rice and Swope, said they were in favor of such a measure.

Swope, who described himself as an NRA card-carrying Democrat, said studies have shown that states with open carry laws have less crime.

"I am definitely in favor of the responsible ownership of firearms and protecting the Second Amendment," Swope said. "If people show, prove that they have gun control, if they know how to use the weapon, understand the laws, show a proficient use, then I think they should be allowed to carry it."

Rice said Florida has had an open carry law for nearly 100 years and, "We didn’t have any of the horrible things" that people against the policy said will happen.

The only candidate who did not support open carry policies is Gualtieri. He said that when he is walking through a grocery store or sitting down to dinner at a restaurant he does not want to have to see guns out in public.

"I’m not in favor of it," he said. "I don’t want to be in Publix and see three guys walk through the aisle and seeing guns strapped to their hips. We are a civilized society."

http://dunedin.patch.com/articles/gualt ... ty-sheriff

The candidates were also asked if, under conditions similar to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, would they be in favor of taking legally owned firearms away from their owners.

“No, I would not,” said Swope. “The Second Amendment says we have the right to bear arms. If these people own firearms lawfully, I would not participate in taking those guns away from them. It would be a clear violation of the (U.S.) Constitution.”

“Absolutely not,” said Gualtieri. “I fully support the Second Amendment and the right of people to keep and bear arms. I also support the right of citizens to carry concealed weapons with a permit. I will not support unbridled 100 percent open carry of firearms.”

http://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_count ... rchiveview

Examine Gualtieri's statement, "I also support the RIGHT of the citizens to carry concealed weapons WITH A PERMIT." Since when does exercise of a right require a permit? This is eerily reminiscent of ex-Sheriff Jim Coats' testimony before the committee during SB234 discussions in 2011. "I understand it's about peoples' rights, but um, peoples' rights need to be granted in a responsible way."

Here are the Gun Owners of America House ratings for Florida. I'd appreciate it if someone could post the NRA ratings for Florida (I can't access the NRA-PVF site from Thailand):

Florida House Member Ratings

1 MILLER A
2 SOUTHERLAND A-
3 BROWN F
4 CRENSHAW A
5 NUGENT NR
6 STEARNS A
7 MICA B
8 WEBSTER A
9 BILIRAKIS A
10 YOUNG C-
11 CASTOR F
12 ROSS A
13 BUCHANAN A
14 MACK A
15 POSEY A
16 ROONEY A-
17 WILSON F
18 ROS-LEHTINEN B-
19 DEUTCH F
20 SCHULTZ F-
21 DIAZ-BALART A-
22 WEST A
23 HASTINGS F-
24 ADAMS A
25 RIVERA A-

This website has helped me.

http://votesmart.org/

OC4me said:

Copied from FloridaCarry.org (thanks Rich):

Click to expand...

No charge!

Ok, I made some final adjustments. I couldn't find any explicit Gun-related info on some of the remaining judges, so I looked into who appointed them. If they were appointed by a Democrat (I'm sorry to say that chances are they're more likely than not anti-gun, or at least indifferent to gun rights), I labeled them as not recommended. Conversely, I labeled the Republican appointed judges as recommended 'yes'. If anyone has any info to prove me wrong, please post here. The last thing I want to do is vote the wrong way on Florida gun rights.

As for the School Board Member District candidates. I recommended Elliott Stern for these reasons:

1) He is male and statistically speaking, he is more likely to be pro-gun than the other candidate who is female. Not happy being sexist here.

2) Elliott seems to come from a rural background and thus is more likely to be familiar with firearms.

3) The other candidate stuck me as being a city liberal based on her campaign bio. Just my impression, but she really didn't provide much as much personal data as Elliott.

Again, my apologies for being forced to resort to generalizations. If anyone has any conflicting info, please let us know.

Ok, I made some final adjustments. I couldn't find any explicit Gun-related info on some of the remaining judges, so I looked into who appointed them. If they were appointed by a Democrat (I'm sorry to say that chances are they're more likely than not anti-gun, or at least indifferent to gun rights), I labeled them as not recommended. Conversely, I labeled the Republican appointed judges as recommended 'yes'. If anyone has any info to prove me wrong, please post here. The last thing I want to do is vote the wrong way on Florida gun rights.

As for the School Board Member District candidates. I recommended Elliott Stern for these reasons:

1) He is male and statistically speaking, he is more likely to be pro-gun than the other candidate who is female.

2) Elliott seems to come from a rural background and thus is more likely to be familiar with firearms.

3) The other candidate stuck me as being a city liberal based on her campaign bio. Just my impression, but she really didn't provide as much personal data as Elliott.

Again, my apologies for being forced to resort to generalizations. If anyone has any conflicting info, please let us know.

OC4me said:

[I'm updating this list by highlighting Pro-Gun candidates, as they are determined, in order to help others]

Hi all,

I'm an expatriate U.S. Citizen living in Thailand and registered to vote absentee in Florida. I just got my ballot but don't know who is Pro-Second Amendment or Anti-Gun. Please share your thoughts about any particular candidate:

United States Senator:

- Connie Mack (Rep) [NRA "A" Rating]
- Bill Nelson (Dem) [GOA "F" Rating]

Representative in Congress District 13:

- C. W. Bill Young (Rep) [NRA-endorsed]
- Jessica Ehrlich (Dem)

State Senator District 22

- Jeff Brands (Rep) [NRA-endorsed]

State Representative Distrit 69:

- Kathleen Peters (Rep) [Endorsed by NRA]
- Josh Shulman (Dem)

Sheriff:

- Bob Guatleri (Rep) [Despite being NRA rated "A", he actively opposes open carry! DO NOT VOTE for Guatleri]
- Scott Swope (Dem) [NRA rated "AQ" - Swope is on the record as supporting open carry!]

Supervisor of Elections:

- Deborah Clark (Rep)
- Jack Killingsworth (Dem)

Board of County Commissioners District 1:

- Neil Brickfield (Rep)
- Janet C. Long (Dem) [NRA rated "F"]

Board of County Commissioners District 3:

- Nancy Bostock (Rep)
- Charlie Justice (Dem) [NRA rated "F"]

Sitting Judges (which of the following shall be retained in office?):

- R. Fred Lewis [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Barbara J. Parlente [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Peggy A. Quince [Anti-Gun - vote NO!]
- Anthony K. Black (recommend yes)
- Darryl C. Casanueva (recommend no)
- Charles A. Davis, Jr. (recommend yes)
- Edward C. LaRose (recommend yes)

School Board member District 1:

- Janet R. Clark (recommend no)
- Elliot Stern (recommend yes)

Thanks!

PS. The NRA-PVF site seems to be blocked by my ISP here in Thailand (censorship apparently). So I can't access the NRA recommendations for Florida.

[I'm updating this list by highlighting Pro-Gun candidates as they are determined to help others]

Click to expand...

Don't forget your medicare, your social security, and tax cuts for the rich.

If you are earning under $250K/yr then you have no business voting Repub.

I am self-employed (earning way under $250K) and have every reason to vote republican (which is after, not before, gun rights).

If I was keen on sucking off the government tit, I'd vote for nanny state socialism and chuck my freedoms out the window.

And by the way, this thread is about voting for Second Amendment rights. I'd pick a pro-gun democrat over an anti-gun republican any day. Go troll elsewhere!

OC4me said:

I am self-employed (earning way under $250K) and have every reason to vote republican (which is after, not before, gun rights).

If I was keen on sucking off the government tit, I'd vote for nanny state socialism and chuck my freedoms out the window.

And by the way, this thread is about voting for Second Amendment rights. I'd pick a pro-gun democrat over an anti-gun republican any day. Go troll elsewhere!

Click to expand...

Well said, brother.