NOW IT IS A TRUTH ABOUT GUNS ARTICLE
The Florida Republican Party, in support of incumbent Rep. Vern Buchanan, has released a blistering ad campaign against his challenger; Sarasota Democrat David Shapiro. Shapiro says he supports "common sense gun safety laws".
Nothing unusual there. It's exactly the kind of boilerplate talking points you'd expect from a south Florida Democrat running for a seat in Congress.
The Florida GOP's attack ads against Shapiro focus on his past investments in two companies, Vista Outdoor and the Olin Corporation. Vista owns such brands as Savage Arms, Speer and Federal Premium Ammunition, and BLACKHAWK! to name a few. Olin Corp. is the parent company of Winchester Ammunition.
The GOP ads paint Shapiro as a hypocrite, claiming he wants to ban firearms while he makes money from them. I personally don't have an issue with that. What I do have an issue with is the Florida Republican party's implied message.
The ads give the impression that the Florida Republican Party is in favor of gun control. I understand what they're trying to do here, but lot of fence-sitting Republicans will look at this negatively. The flyer criticizes Winchester for allegedly making "cop-killer bullets" and implies that the manufacture of AR-15 patterns rifles is somehow evil.
The ominous photos and general theme give the impression that Shapiro isn't really for "common-sense gun safety laws," but the GOP is. It's reminiscent of a Chris Christie flyer from when he was running for office in New Jersey.
Do you think the ad is positive or negative when it comes to gun rights in Florida? Does this ad present the ownership of AR-15 pattern rifles in a positive or negative light? Is this the kind of message the Florida GOP should be sending? Or is all fair in love, war and politics?
