• Mitt Romney has been taking stands both against and in
favor of the gun control issue. Initially the former
Massachusetts governor was on the side of strong gun laws.
 
• In 1994, while running for the Senate, Romney supported
a couple of gun control measures namely the Brady Bill which
attempted to bring forth a five-day waiting period on gun sales
and another ban on some assault weapons much to the ire of the
National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups. 

• In 2002 as the GOP gubernatorial candidate, Romney
praised the state's stringent laws. "We do have tough gun laws in
Massachusetts; I support them," he said. "I won?t chip away at
them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."

• However, as Romney ran in the US Presidential elections,
his words and actions meant to appease the gun owners of the
nation. He openly reveals that he is a member of the NRA along
with working to ease the restrictions imposed on gun owners.

• As reported in January 2007, Romney said that "I have a
gun of my own. I go hunting myself. I'm a member of the NRA and
believe firmly in the right to bear arms." It was later
discovered that Romney had never been issued a license in the
four states where he had lived.
 
• However, Romney continues to support the ban on assault
weapons. "These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense.
They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of
hunting down and killing people."

 		

• Mike Huckabee strongly supports the right to bear arms
and opposes restrictions on access to firearms.

• "My position on the Second Amendment to the Constitution
is as clear for me as the position held by most journalists
toward the 1st Amendment. While I do not consider myself a "gun
nut," I proudly own a variety of firearms and enjoy hunting as
well as sports shooting. But even if I were not a hunter or did
not enjoy shooting, I would still be a firm believer in the 2nd
Amendment right of Americans to own firearms for self-protection
and as a matter of principle."

• Huckabee also explained the rationale behind his stance:
"There are 700,000 physicians in the US and the number of
accidental deaths caused by them per year is 120,000, making the
accidental death rate per physician 17%. Using the same logic,
there are about 80 million gun owners, and the number of
accidental gun deaths per year among all age groups is 1,500. The
same calculation reveals the number of accidental deaths per gun
owner to be 0.00188%. In other words, statistically, doctors are
approximately 9,000 more times more dangerous than gun owners.
Yet, I hear no one suggesting we ban doctors."

• Huckabee has his views on the issue of 'Castle
Doctrine', a legislation which delineates the person's right to
"stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including
deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to
do so to prevent death or great bodily harm." Huckabee adds,
"Personally, I think it?s the way it ought to be. We ought to
have the right to protect ourselves."