Mark Tyson
Member
http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Jan-15-Thu-2004/22987924.html
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury
Guns 'n' Democrats
Being a Democrat doesn't necessarily mean you're anti-gun
By Heidi Walters
John J. Cahill sits inside a Starbucks in Henderson, sipping his coffee. He's a big man, and his old-fashioned cowboy gear--tooled, studded leather wrapped around his legs and wrists, and a vest, overcoat, hat and scarf--makes him seem even bigger, like some old-timey sheriff come to clean up the, er, strip mall. The badge on his left shoulder says "Devil John"--a moniker of his Single Action Shooting Society games. But his guns are outside in his pickup. Can't be packing those things around in public, scaring people.
Cahill is president of the newly formed Nevada Outdoor Democratic Caucus, which was officially certified by the Nevada Democratic Party in early December. He's a devout Democrat. And he's a devout gun lover--the cowboy outfit is part of his SASS hobby. He's also been a student twice out at Frontsight (a weapons training site near Pahrump). And he teaches gun safety classes.
Cahill, 58, grew up in a family of hunters and trapshooters who also were solid union and solid Democrats. He, too, joined a union. "When I turned 21, I registered Democrat," he says. "I said, 'I guess I'm a Democrat.' And [my parents] said, 'Yeah, you're working, so you're a Democrat.' I consider being a Democrat similar to being Catholic [which he is]. It's just what you are."
But darned if he wasn't getting tired of all Democrats being pegged as anti-gun. Which is why he wanted the new caucus. "For me, it started out as a frustration with Republicans always talking about Democrats being anti-gun," he says. "Well, I know I'm a Democrat and I know I'm not anti-gun. I like shooting."
The new caucus' mission is to give a voice to "outdoor enthusiasts of hunting, fishing, off-highway vehicles and the conservation of wildlife and public lands,' he says. Key to Cahill is the stance on guns.
"You can't get to the right of me on guns," he says. "We're here to talk about Nevada values." He cites the section of the Nevada Constitution that says we can own guns for a lawful purpose. Rebecca Lambe, executive director of the state Democratic Party, agreed with him and wrote, in a news release following the caucus' acceptance, "A citizen's right to lawfully own firearms and enjoy our state's outdoor recreation is a part of Nevada's heritage that our party fully respects and supports." In fact, there wasn't any opposition from other Nevada Democrats.
Cahill admits that if this weren't an important election year for Democrats, his caucus might not be as well-received. Democrats, regardless of their individual issues, are all banking on Harry. "Getting Harry Reid re-elected is, and will be, an essential role in our caucus," says Cahill. "Because he is the most important man in America for guns." Reid is co-sponsor of a bill that would prevent lawsuits against manufacturers of legal weapons when they're misused.
It's a familiar tune nationwide, actually: Democrats leaning in to the center more to assure their rural counterparts that they're not actually anti-gun, just for better gun safety. (Centrist Democrats warn that the term "gun control" must be ditched if the gun-loving Democrats are to feel included.) Many of the Democratic presidential candidates are flashing their gun cred, too. Although, as a December Mother Jones article titled "Shotgun Wedding" noted, this could backfire: "Some, particularly left-leaning Democrats, will dismiss this as another sign that Democrats are selling out their core principles in exchange for 'electability.'"
In Nevada, left-leaning Democrats are hardly an issue. It isn't a very far lean to gather in the gun owners. Still, Cahill saw a need to make a point of it.
"There were statewide candidates who, if they felt they wouldn't be accepted by the rurals, they would write 'em off and focus on Washoe and Clark County," he says. "But those rural people should get a chance. Gun-owning union members was the category we were losing to the Republicans." Even so, the first several dozen to express interest in joining the new caucus came from the more urban Washoe County, says Cahill. "Some people think I'm going to have the largest membership for a caucus. We're also doing something no one else has done. We've been given an allowance to allow in persons not registered as Democrats." Gun shops might join, for instance, or an outdoor club, regardless of their members' party affiliations, simply because they support the issue. "I'll take a Republican's 50 bucks," says Cahill.
But there will be party division, at least nationwide. The Federal Violent Crime Control Act of 1994, for example, may cause a rift. That act banned the manufacture and import of "assault weapons." It expires this year, and most Democrats seem in favor of extending the ban. But Democrats like Cahill say such thinking is flawed. "I'm against the assault weapon ban because it's out of focus," he says. "You have to focus on the offender. When the bullet leaves the barrel, it doesn't know what the gun looks like. When you talk about banning assault weapons, what you're saying is you want criminals to use sport weapons instead."
Cahill says a deer rifle can be more deadly than a semiautomatic assault weapon. And the definition of an assault weapon is in itself a problem. Out in the desert, he lifts one of his old guns and says, "Really, this antique is as dangerous as an assault weapon if I want to make it be." He says gun laws already in place should be enforced better, gun safety should be emphasized, and there should be instant background checks at gun shows. More attention to gun safety probably won't be hard to push in this state, since last week the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Nevada's gun control laws a D.
Just back off the assault weapon ban, says Cahill, because it's too all-encompassing. Why, it includes antiques, says Cahill, because the semiautomatic action goes back to 1903.
"I was named after my grandfather, John Joseph Cahill," he says. "In 1951, when my grandfather died, he was hunting in the field, he was with his dog, and he died--he had a heart attack. I got that gun. It's a Model 11 Remington, a semiautomatic shotgun. And every time people talk about banning semiautomatics [assault weapons], they're talking about my grandfather's gun."
John J. Cahill, whose hobby is cowboy shooting, says the Nevada Outdoor Democratic Caucus was formed to bring disenfranchised, gun-loving sportsmen back into the fold.
Photo by CHRISTINE H. WETZEL
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury, 2001 - 2003
Stephens Media Group
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury
Guns 'n' Democrats
Being a Democrat doesn't necessarily mean you're anti-gun
By Heidi Walters
John J. Cahill sits inside a Starbucks in Henderson, sipping his coffee. He's a big man, and his old-fashioned cowboy gear--tooled, studded leather wrapped around his legs and wrists, and a vest, overcoat, hat and scarf--makes him seem even bigger, like some old-timey sheriff come to clean up the, er, strip mall. The badge on his left shoulder says "Devil John"--a moniker of his Single Action Shooting Society games. But his guns are outside in his pickup. Can't be packing those things around in public, scaring people.
Cahill is president of the newly formed Nevada Outdoor Democratic Caucus, which was officially certified by the Nevada Democratic Party in early December. He's a devout Democrat. And he's a devout gun lover--the cowboy outfit is part of his SASS hobby. He's also been a student twice out at Frontsight (a weapons training site near Pahrump). And he teaches gun safety classes.
Cahill, 58, grew up in a family of hunters and trapshooters who also were solid union and solid Democrats. He, too, joined a union. "When I turned 21, I registered Democrat," he says. "I said, 'I guess I'm a Democrat.' And [my parents] said, 'Yeah, you're working, so you're a Democrat.' I consider being a Democrat similar to being Catholic [which he is]. It's just what you are."
But darned if he wasn't getting tired of all Democrats being pegged as anti-gun. Which is why he wanted the new caucus. "For me, it started out as a frustration with Republicans always talking about Democrats being anti-gun," he says. "Well, I know I'm a Democrat and I know I'm not anti-gun. I like shooting."
The new caucus' mission is to give a voice to "outdoor enthusiasts of hunting, fishing, off-highway vehicles and the conservation of wildlife and public lands,' he says. Key to Cahill is the stance on guns.
"You can't get to the right of me on guns," he says. "We're here to talk about Nevada values." He cites the section of the Nevada Constitution that says we can own guns for a lawful purpose. Rebecca Lambe, executive director of the state Democratic Party, agreed with him and wrote, in a news release following the caucus' acceptance, "A citizen's right to lawfully own firearms and enjoy our state's outdoor recreation is a part of Nevada's heritage that our party fully respects and supports." In fact, there wasn't any opposition from other Nevada Democrats.
Cahill admits that if this weren't an important election year for Democrats, his caucus might not be as well-received. Democrats, regardless of their individual issues, are all banking on Harry. "Getting Harry Reid re-elected is, and will be, an essential role in our caucus," says Cahill. "Because he is the most important man in America for guns." Reid is co-sponsor of a bill that would prevent lawsuits against manufacturers of legal weapons when they're misused.
It's a familiar tune nationwide, actually: Democrats leaning in to the center more to assure their rural counterparts that they're not actually anti-gun, just for better gun safety. (Centrist Democrats warn that the term "gun control" must be ditched if the gun-loving Democrats are to feel included.) Many of the Democratic presidential candidates are flashing their gun cred, too. Although, as a December Mother Jones article titled "Shotgun Wedding" noted, this could backfire: "Some, particularly left-leaning Democrats, will dismiss this as another sign that Democrats are selling out their core principles in exchange for 'electability.'"
In Nevada, left-leaning Democrats are hardly an issue. It isn't a very far lean to gather in the gun owners. Still, Cahill saw a need to make a point of it.
"There were statewide candidates who, if they felt they wouldn't be accepted by the rurals, they would write 'em off and focus on Washoe and Clark County," he says. "But those rural people should get a chance. Gun-owning union members was the category we were losing to the Republicans." Even so, the first several dozen to express interest in joining the new caucus came from the more urban Washoe County, says Cahill. "Some people think I'm going to have the largest membership for a caucus. We're also doing something no one else has done. We've been given an allowance to allow in persons not registered as Democrats." Gun shops might join, for instance, or an outdoor club, regardless of their members' party affiliations, simply because they support the issue. "I'll take a Republican's 50 bucks," says Cahill.
But there will be party division, at least nationwide. The Federal Violent Crime Control Act of 1994, for example, may cause a rift. That act banned the manufacture and import of "assault weapons." It expires this year, and most Democrats seem in favor of extending the ban. But Democrats like Cahill say such thinking is flawed. "I'm against the assault weapon ban because it's out of focus," he says. "You have to focus on the offender. When the bullet leaves the barrel, it doesn't know what the gun looks like. When you talk about banning assault weapons, what you're saying is you want criminals to use sport weapons instead."
Cahill says a deer rifle can be more deadly than a semiautomatic assault weapon. And the definition of an assault weapon is in itself a problem. Out in the desert, he lifts one of his old guns and says, "Really, this antique is as dangerous as an assault weapon if I want to make it be." He says gun laws already in place should be enforced better, gun safety should be emphasized, and there should be instant background checks at gun shows. More attention to gun safety probably won't be hard to push in this state, since last week the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Nevada's gun control laws a D.
Just back off the assault weapon ban, says Cahill, because it's too all-encompassing. Why, it includes antiques, says Cahill, because the semiautomatic action goes back to 1903.
"I was named after my grandfather, John Joseph Cahill," he says. "In 1951, when my grandfather died, he was hunting in the field, he was with his dog, and he died--he had a heart attack. I got that gun. It's a Model 11 Remington, a semiautomatic shotgun. And every time people talk about banning semiautomatics [assault weapons], they're talking about my grandfather's gun."
John J. Cahill, whose hobby is cowboy shooting, says the Nevada Outdoor Democratic Caucus was formed to bring disenfranchised, gun-loving sportsmen back into the fold.
Photo by CHRISTINE H. WETZEL
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury, 2001 - 2003
Stephens Media Group
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