As the governor's race heats up, Gov. Scott McCallum's campaign has gained the support of the National Rifle Association as well as that of the Wisconsin Pro-Gun Movement. The NRA stated that defeating the Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Jim Doyle, is a national priority for the organization.
\Never before has someone who has been so vehemently opposed to the private ownership of firearms run for governor of Wisconsin,"" Jim Fendry, director of the Wisconsin Pro-Gun Movement, told the Capital Times.
The NRA's opposition to Doyle could be a major factor in the outcome of this fall's election since it boasts more than 100,000 members in the state, according to UW-Madison political science professor Don Kettl.
""The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbies in the country,"" Kettl said.
However, Kettl stressed that the NRA may be more powerful in Washington and in other states than it is in Wisconsin. The Doyle campaign is not afraid of the NRA, and believes that it is not as powerful in the gubernatorial election as it is in the Legislature, according to Bill Christofferson, campaign director for Doyle.
""The NRA has a lot of power in the legislature and is very effective at lobbying,"" he said. ""But when it comes to elections and influencing voters, it's a different story.""
A major point of contention between the gun lobby and the Doyle campaign involves Doyle's sponsorship of an anti-terrorism bill containing a provision to ban primers for ammunition. Though the bill did not pass the state legislature, the gun lobby believed it would have effectively rendered many multiple-shot guns illegal.
""The only way you could own ammunition for primers for ammunition reloading would be if the only gun you owned was a single-shot gun,"" Fendry said.
Christofferson argued the ban on primers was never part of the original intention of the bill. He cited a memo from the state's Justice Department, which Doyle heads, to the legislative reference bureau. The papers contain provisions allowing for ""ammunition for small arms and firearms"" and ""ammunition reloading equipment.""
These changes would make primers for most hunting guns legal, The campaign maintained there was an error when the bill was drafted and when Doyle realized the mistake, he corrected it immediately.
The issue of gun control remains prominent in this campaign. It may not be the issue itself, but the amount of money and power the NRA puts behind it, that is important to shaping this election, Kettl said.
""The real threat to Doyle is not the issue itself but a flood of negative advertising that he doesn't have the money to respond to,"" Kettl said, adding that he believes Doyle will have a difficult time getting his own message heard.
