Judge Roy Moore pulled a concealed handgun from his pocket and vowed to defend the Second Amendment as U.S. Senator while speaking at a pre-election-day rally in Fairhope, AL, Monday night.
The former Alabama chief justice is running to unseat establishment-backed Senator Luther Strange (R-AL) in Tuesday’s primary run-off.
Moore paced back and forth on stage throughout most of his speech — engaging people and passionately explaining his love for Alabama, the USA, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Toward the end of the speech, he talked about the negative ads that have been run against him and pointed out that some of the ads even questioned his support for the Second Amendment.
He referenced ads that “were completely false,” like the one that claimed he does not “believe in the Second Amendment.” He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a concealed carry handgun, held it up high and said, “I believe in the Second Amendment.” The crowd went wild.
Moore added, “You know, they say that guns are bad; that they kill people. Well I know a lot about guns–I’m the one that used guns in combat. I know what guns do…[But] guns don’t kill, people kill. [You could say] cars kill, are we going to get rid of our cars? Are we going to get rid of our knives? No. We’ve got to bring morality back to our country.”
The applause of the crowd hit a crescendo as Moore added, “We’ve got to uphold the Second Amendment.”
On September 20, Breitbart News reported that Moore opposes an “assault weapons” ban, a “high capacity” magazine ban, and an expansion of background checks for gun purchases. He views an expansion of background checks as a ruse by which the left can secure government-mandated firearm registration. Moreover, Moore supports national reciprocity for concealed carry and believes Congress ought to pass national reciprocity now.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the rest of the establishment have not acted to pass national reciprocity. Moore is running against McConnell and the establishment by running against Strange, and protecting the Second Amendment is part of why he wants to win.
Guns Owners of America and the National Association of Gun Rights have both endorsed him in this endeavor. Both groups view Moore as a no-nonsense, outside-the-beltway proponent of the right to keep and bear arms.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.