Newly publicized video is shaking up the race for congress in Michigan’s 1st congressional district. Video published by the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, has proven that Lon Johnson supports Barack Obama’s liberal gun policies despite the assurances that he previously gave to the National Rifle Association.
During a lengthy 2013 conversation between Butch Hollowell and then Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Northern Michigan declared that he supported President Obama’s position on the assault weapons ban, expanded background checks, and the “elimination of those big clips that have all those rounds in it.”
Referencing the cheers Johnson received for touting gun control, Hollowell asked, “What is your view, what do you think the prospects are of trying to get legislation” that would curtail the Second Amendment? Lon Johnson replied, “I think they’re good….the president has laid out a number of proposals and now the Congress is negotiating those items. We need to support our president, support his initiatives and the courage he’s shown.”
To implement Obama’s gun control laws, Johnson continued, “we need to elect good people who will help support him. There are three seats we will be paying attention to: Congressman Walberg (MI-7), Congressman Benishek (MI-1), and Congressman Rogers (MI-8).” He concluded by insisting that Democrats should send more people who support President Obama’s anti-gun programs to Washington because “doing nothing is not an option.”
Michigan’s First Congressional District has a much higher gun ownership rate than most congressional districts and its citizens are strong defenders of the Second Amendment. The NRA had previously given both candidates ‘A’ rating until this point, but that was prior to the release of this new video that is shaking up the race.
Johnson had touted his support for the Second Amendment, but now that support appears to have only been one of convenience rather than conviction.
This video could very well end the Johnson campaign in MI-1.
