Republican top guns fire the same lines

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Photo / AP

There are 15 major contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Together, they own at least 40 guns.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is up to 12 now, including an AR-15 assault weapon that he has talked about using if law and order ever breaks down in his neighbourhood. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has a gun for jogging.

Nearly every Republican candidate is broadly opposed to new limits on the purchase or use of guns. With the exception of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie those who have been rated by the National Rifle Association range from A-plus all the way down to ... A-minus. Eleven of them are scheduled to appear next month at the NRA's annual conference.

The near-unanimity on the issue underscores the status of guns in modern-day conservatism. Even for those who don't own them, they are a bellwether of individual liberty, a symbol of what big government wants and shouldn't have. As the 2016 campaign gets going, guns and hunting will inevitably be part of its political theatre. Recall Mitt Romney, who, eager to demonstrate his affection for hunting, once described his targets as "small, small, uh . . . varmints, if you will."

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has a .357 Magnum revolver and a Beretta Silver Pigeon II shotgun. In 2013, Cruz had the shotgun flown up to Iowa, to go pheasant hunting. Reporters and cameras were not far behind. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker didn't grow up hunting. Now he hunts deer, pheasant and ducks. Walker posted a selfie on Twitter in 2013 from his deer stand.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal purchased a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver after Hurricane Katrina. He still keeps it for home defence, although his home is now the heavily guarded Governor's Mansion. Former tech chief executive Carly Fiorina owns five guns.

Many of these candidates have already compiled records that impress pro-gun groups: either working to oppose new limits on guns, or working to loosen the limits that were already there. Walker signed a "Castle Doctrine" law, giving gun owners new leeway to use deadly force against threatening intruders, without first trying to flee. In Florida, former Governor Jeb Bush, who doesn't own a gun, signed "Stand Your Ground," a measure which gave gun owners the same leeway to defend themselves in public, not just at home.

"I do think Christie is the only one that we could assign a glimmer of hope to," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "And even that is relative."

Christie, who also doesn't own a gun, heads a state which has some of the toughest gun laws - including a ban on assault weapons and a limit on the size of magazines. Christie opposes allowing people with concealed-carry licences from other states to carry in New Jersey. But he's also angered the gun-control camp, vetoing new limits on magazines and a proposal to ban powerful .50-calibre rifles. With his candidacy deflating, Christie has said New Jersey's gun laws really might be a bad idea. "In terms of what's already on the books, believe me, there would be a whole list of things I would change," he said last week. "If you really want to change those laws ... send me a Republican legislature."