Governors and Guns

From the Blade

Mr. Irvine’s organization and other pro-gun groups praise both Republican Ken Blackwell and Democrat Ted Strickland, the leading candidates for governor. Gun-control proponents prefer Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Sherrod Brown, who are running for Mr. DeWine’s U.S. Senate seat.

Both contests have drawn national attention, but the gubernatorial candidates are firing more freely on the gun issue.

Mr. Strickland is a southeast Ohio congressman who touts his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and says he’s bucked party leadership for years on guns, though he does not own one personally. He voted against President Bill Clinton’s ban on assault weapons and for a measure last year to shield gun manufacturers from liability in crimes involving their products.

In a press release last week, Mr. Strickland criticized Republican leaders in the Ohio legislature for not passing a bill that would wipe out municipal gun restrictions in several cities, including Toledo.

Mr. Blackwell, Ohio’s secretary of state, is a gun owner who traces his Second Amendment support to his days on Cincinnati City Council. He opened a trapshooting tournament on Tuesday; his campaign and the state Republican Party spent part of the rest of the week questioning Mr. Strickland’s commitment to gun rights.