We love our guns here in the Great Land. Alaska is in the top five states with the highest per-capita gun ownership; as I’m fond of pointing out, up here in the valley, even the hippies have guns, and know how to use them. Most of us aren’t overly concerned about human predators, although that can happen; most Alaskans keep guns to put food on the table and to occasionally fend off a big hairy beast.
But we also know that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or fending off big toothy critters. Therefore it comes as something of a surprise to see the National Rifle Association endorsing Alaska’s Democrat at-large Representative Mary Peltola for reelection. (Full disclosure: My wife and I are both Life Members of the NRA and have been since the mid-90s.)
Peltola is Alaska’s sole representative and an advocate for the Second Amendment. On her campaign website, she said she owns 176 long guns and dares “someone to tread on Alaskan freedoms.”
In a statement to The Hill, she said she campaigned in 2022 on a “pro-freedom platform” and continues that to this day.
“Guns are an integral part of Alaska’s culture and our subsistence lifestyles,” Peltola said. “Alaskan gun [owners] are the strongest proponents for responsible gun ownership. We pass down our knowledge and skills to our children.”
Peltola argued that the endorsement may help the country understand Alaskan culture and see “the importance of the Second Amendment in communities.”
Except, that’s not what Mary said only a couple of years ago. From the Great Land, Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing had this to say:
Just two years ago, the NRA rated Peltola with a “D.” Now, an endorsement? What has changed? Even the Gun Owners of America has rated Peltola with an “F.”
Peltola wants gun control measures, such as universal background checks, waiting periods, and gun storage laws.
According to The Washington Post in 2022, “During her campaign, Peltola said she wants a national law protecting abortion rights and favors some gun-control measures, such as universal background checks.” (Azi Paybarah, “Who Is Mary Peltola, The First Alaska Native In Congress?”)
On a questionnaire for the Anchorage Daily News, Peltola supported universal background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases.
Representative Peltola has been flip-flopping on this issue from the get-go, apparently trying to hammer the square peg of her gun-owning home state into the round hole of the national Democratic Party. Suzanne Downing has been pointing this out since 2020:
Before this week, she said the Second Amendment, Americans’ right to own firearms, was intended for hunting. She said there needs to be stricter gun laws. She advocated for guns to be locked in safes at home.
In her latest ad, Peltola says the Second Amendment is “To defend ourselves and our food from wild animals.”
While Mary Peltola continues to flip and flop, let’s set that aside for a moment, as she is just another Democrat politician from a red state desperately trying to keep her job. She clearly has no understanding of why we have a Second Amendment, but that’s not a terribly big surprise. What’s baffling about all this is the NRA’s endorsement. The NRA has laid out their endorsement rationale as follows:
Randy Kozuch, the Chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund said they endorse candidates who “support and defend the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms” no matter the candidates’ party affiliation.
“In Congress, Representative Peltola has supported efforts to rein in overreach by the ATF, voted for legislation supporting the Second Amendment rights of veterans, and voted in favor of protecting traditional ammunition,” Kozuch said in a statement to The Hill. “Given her strong record of support for gun rights and law-abiding gun owners, NRA-PVF is proud to endorse Representative Peltola for re-election.”
So, the National Rifle Association, who only two years ago rated Representative Peltola “D” on gun rights, is now claiming that she has a “strong record of support for gun rights?”
Mandatory background checks for private sales — which, candidly, most Alaskans will ignore — is “support for gun rights?” Peltola supports mandatory waiting periods and mandatory “safe” storage — those things are not “support for gun rights.” And while she has been rather opaque on “assault weapons” bans, one has to wonder if when push came to shove she would support her constituent’s preferences or Democratic Party preferences.
Which brings us back to the NRA and begs the question: “What the hell, NRA?”
See Related: National Rifle Association Reaches Settlement With DC Attorney General, Pledges to Reform Charity Arm
Supreme Court Gives the NRA and Freedom a Big Win Over Government Censorship and Bullying
Granted, the NRA is and always has been focused on the Second Amendment. They are a single-issue organization, and so their endorsement doesn’t take into account other things that matter to Alaskans, like energy extraction. But that doesn’t make this endorsement any less baffling when there are Republican candidates who would be much more reliably pro-gun and who actually understand what the Second Amendment means.
And, I remind you, there are alternatives to the NRA. And to the NRA, speaking as an Alaskan, I can only say this: “Thanks for nothing.”
