Gun rights, which belong to everyone, should not be a partisan issue, but many times in California it seems to be the folks on the left side of the aisle who have no problem destroying fundamental rights.
But, as reflected in our 2016 Legislative Grades, a few Republicans made the naughty list for their votes last session, and two of them of them are now out of a job.
Asm. Ling Ling Chang was running for the Senate seat vacated by a termed-out Bob Huff. Though she earned an “A” grade on our 2015 Legislative Report Card, she took a hard turn to the dark side in 2016. She voted for AB 1135, SB 880 (both bullet button bans), and AB 1695 , (expanding prohibited persons list to include some non-violent misdemeanors). To highlight her separation from the 2A community, she returned campaign contributions she received from the NRA.
First term Asm. David Hadley faced a tough re-election battle against the man who formerly held the seat. Hadley was instrumental in the passage of one bill FPC championed (SB 443, asset forfeiture reform), but voted for AB 857 (serial numbers), and SB 894 (criminalizing failure to report lost/stolen firearms). He earned a D+ (down from a C+ in 2015) in 2016’s Legislative Grades.
Asm. Eric Linder, whose vote for SB 707 (disarming CCW holders on campus), earned him a C+ on the 2015 Legislative Grades, lost his re-election bid.
Sometimes the “conventional wisdom” tells Republicans they need to act more like Democrats to win in California. But the results of these races demonstrate that there is no value for Republicans in selling out on issues involving fundamental rights.
Do you like this page?