HILL REPORT: HILLARY BACKER WANTS RUSSERT SHOT; ‘2A IS NOT FOR SILENCING PRESS’ SAYS SAF

For Immediate Release:   11/1/2007

BELLEVUE, WA – A report in Thursday’s edition of The Hill suggests that Hillary Clinton supporters have little or no understanding of either the First or Second Amendments, after a Clinton backer reportedly said in a conference call that NBC’s Tim Russert “should be shot” for asking tough questions, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

Reporter Sam Youngman noted that the woman who made the suggestion quickly acknowledged that she “shouldn’t say that on a conference call.” This conference call was in reaction to Clinton’s bungled performance Tuesday evening in a Democrat candidates’ debate.

“Incredible,” observed SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. “This unidentified supporter of candidate Clinton – whose extreme anti-gun record is well known – would misuse a firearm to silence a journalist, simply because he did his job and put a politician on the spot with her own words. What a remarkable comment to come from the mouth of someone who is most likely an ardent supporter of restrictive gun laws.

“The most telling thing about Youngman’s revelation,” he added, “is that the woman didn’t immediately withdraw the suggestion, she merely admitted that she shouldn’t be talking about murdering Mr. Russert in a public forum. Perhaps Mrs. Clinton’s attitudes about private firearms ownership are based on her knowledge of her own supporters, at least one of whom probably should never be allowed near a firearm, especially if she is anywhere near Tim Russert!

“Frankly,” Gottlieb said, “we are more disappointed than surprised at this remark, because it has long been a trademark of the so-called ‘progressive Left’ that it not only is intolerant of the Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bear arms, it has zero tolerance for opinions and news with which it disagrees. And these are the people supporting Hillary Clinton.

“Candidates for high public office, and especially the presidency, will occasionally stumble,” Gottlieb said. “Ultimately, they will stand or fall on their own words and beliefs, and whether their supporters like it or not, it is the duty of journalists like Tim Russert to bring out the best, and sometimes the worst, from a politician. That’s what the First Amendment is all about. He should get a medal for that, not a bullet.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

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