Poor JFK. He can't get anything right lately. Since this is from Drudge, it is best to take it with a grain of salt.

UPDATE: Grain of salt alert! Juan Non-Volokh thinks that Drudge has"misfired" on this though the last paragraph of his post seems to leave the matter open. I am not a gun expert so perhaps others will want to weigh in.

Sheldon Richman - 9/8/2004

Looks like a Drudge misfire to me.

Jonathan Dresner - 9/8/2004

Kerry didn't buy the gun, or even pick the gun, someone handed it to him.

Heck, if I was conspiracy minded, I'd suspect Rove's Raiders planted the donor. At the very least, I'm sure they've been carefully scrutinizing Kerry's (admittedly tacky, but they might yet work) motorcycle and shooting appearances for something like this that they could wave around.

If Bush's hypocrisy stopped at 527s.... what a wonderful world that would be.

David T. Beito - 9/7/2004

Bush is a hypocrite on 527s. Kerry is hypocrite on guns. Both should be exposed and held to account. That's the fuss.

Jonathan Dresner - 9/7/2004

What's the fuss? The law failed (I'm sure Kerry knows this) and the gun is still legal. Bush doesn't like 527s, but he's still letting them do his dirty work.....

Dan Schmutter - 9/7/2004

The term pistol grip has multiple meanings. True, today it most frequently means what New Jersey, for example, defines as a pistol grip:

". . . a well defined handle, similar to that found on a handgun, that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, and which permits the shotgun to be held and fired with one hand." N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1(z).

However, there is a more traditional definition of pistol grip for long arm stocks which distinguishes the pistol grip style of stock from the "English" straight grip style stock.

See, for example, the Ruger website which offers its Red Label shotguns with pistol grip stocks:

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=4164&;return=Y

or English straight grip stocks:

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=4265&;return=Y

Considering how absurdly vague the bill's definition of pistol grip is (as opposed to the New Jersey statute's approach), it could easily be construed as banning the pictured shotgun which clearly has a pistol grip rather than a straight grip.

Aeon J. Skoble - 9/7/2004

is here

Aeon J. Skoble - 9/7/2004

It's clear that photo ops like this are intended to be damage control: Kerry's reputation is "northeastern liberal," which many people interpret, not unreasonably, as "= thinks gun owners are stupid savages" or perhaps "= thinks the 2nd Amendment was passed to protect duck hunting." So by getting his picture taken at the trap range, striking a Heston-esque pose, he hopes to woo voters who might otherwise be uncomfortable in this regard. Problem is, these sorts of things often backfire, and the incongruity makes the situation even sillier -- think Dukakis in the tank. The best analogy I can think of for W. would be getting his picture taken at the APA with Roderick, or at a FEE event with Sheldon.