OP-ED: Matt Salmon On His Proven Record Fighting For The Second Amendment

Phoenix – Former Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon today penned a new op-ed at the Western Tribune.

The op-ed highlights Salmon’s lifelong advocacy for Arizonans’ Second Amendment rights and juxtaposes his proven record with Kari Lake’s controversial history supporting to gun-grabbers like John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

I’ve been a fan of guns and rifles, hunting, and the outdoors since I was a child. It was a love given to me by my father, who served as a Browning Automatic Rifle operator in World War II, and it’s something I’ve carried in my heart ever since.

I wanted other Arizonans to have the opportunity to grow their own firearm collections and feel comfort in the ability to protect themselves and their families, so I committed to defending their rights to do so in elected office.

There are many steps we can take to protect the Second Amendment at the state level, such as expanding campus carry and stopping unconstitutional ‘red flag’ laws. I was proud to endorse Representative Steve Kaiser’s House Bill 2166 earlier this month. His legislation would exempt firearms and firearm safety equipment from transaction privilege taxes (TPT) and use taxes — a smart way to make it more affordable for Arizonans to defend their families at a time when everything else is getting more expensive.

My passion for gun rights is why I have been sounding the alarm about my opponent, Kari Lake, who has a controversial history of donating to gun-grabbers like John Kerry and Obama, promoting Obama’s gun-control agenda, and suggesting that Joe Biden should run for president. More recently, a newspaper investigation revealed that Lake had deliberately misled voters about her “lifetime” NRA membership — a ‘membership’ that, it turns out, she conveniently acquired right before launching her campaign last year as a ‘Republican’.

The next governor of Arizona needs to be a true champion of the Second Amendment who has a proven conservative record to back up what they’re saying. I am that candidate, and I promise to continue standing up for the U.S. Constitution with everything I’ve got.