Montana Gun Group Releases Candidate Grades, Endorsements

MISSOULA – The Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) today released its grades and endorsements for candidates for the Montana Legislature. MSSA has posted its just-released candidate grades and endorsements at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/MSSA2010Grades/

MSSA is the primary political action organization for gun owners and hunters in Montana and has gotten 54 pro-gun and pro-hunting bills through the Montana Legislature in the past 25 years. (See MSSA Successes.) MSSA has been evaluating, grading and endorsing candidates, and publicizing those grades for 20 years as well. Unlike some groups that drift onto the scene only prior to elections to give cover to candidates weak on gun issues, MSSA is active in Montana throughout each year.

MSSA’s candidate evaluations are based on candidate questionnaires MSSA sends to all candidates, on voting records of incumbents, on information from public sources such as news stories, information shared from other pro-gun organizations, and on other information available about candidates. Some candidates lacking voting records do not return MSSA Candidate Questionnaires, a noncompliance seen by MSSA as indicating that a candidate either lacks interest in the right to bear arms or that the candidate is actually hostile to gun rights.

MSSA president Gary Marbut commented, “The right to bear arms and hunting are incredibly important to people in Montana, but sometimes it’s difficult for voters to know exactly where candidates actually stand on these issues. Some candidates with an absolute anti-gun voting record actually claim to be pro-gun. That’s why MSSA does in-depth research on candidates to make informed recommendations to voters. Voters need a credible source for accurate and distilled information about candidates.”

Marbut explained that MSSA is nonpartisan and grades and endorses candidates based on merit alone. MSSA has endorsed Republicans, Democrats, Independents and candidates from the Constitution Party. Most MSSA endorsements go to Republicans because the Republican Party fields candidates in most races and because Republicans are more likely to return candidate questionnaires and support the right to bear arms.

MSSA is a statewide organization and is affiliated with the National Rifle Association and associated with Gun Owners of America and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.