“Thanks, buddy,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said to Chris Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association, as they shook hands after Cox’s introduction Friday.
Walker addressed more than 4,000 cheering attendees at the NRA’s annual meeting in Nashville with his shirt sleeves rolled up, suit jacket discarded, and without a podium as he touted his gun rights-friendly record while taking swings at President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
.@NRA #NRAAM Thanks for having me today. You guys were great. I hope to see you all again soon! – SKW pic.twitter.com/18q8VI1ciz
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 10, 2015
“I’m proud of my A-plus ranking as a governor,” said Walker. “I’m proud even though some on the left may think of that as a scarlet letter.”
Walker, a likely Republican presidential contender, expanded the state’s Castle Doctrine in 2011, which granted new legal protections to homeowners who shoot intruders to their residence, business or vehicle; and signed a concealed carry bill into law in 2011, making Wisconsin the 49th state to allow concealed carry permits.
“I see an occupant in the White House right now who seems to forget that when the president is sworn in he takes an oath of office to preserve, to protect and to defend the Constitution of the United States,’” Walker said. “Well, Mr. President, the last time I checked, the Second Amendment was part of the Constitution.”
Walker, an owner of a shotgun and rifle, said protecting the Second Amendment may be “about protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms – but it is bigger than just that. It is all about freedom – the very thing our founders spelled out in our nation’s constitution.”
“We got a president, (and) people like Hillary Clinton,” said Walker, “who measure success by how many people are dependent on the government. I think we should do just the opposite. We should be measuring success by how many people are not dependent on the government.”
Hillary Clinton is set to announce her candidacy for the presidency on Sunday, according to reports. In her 2008 run for president in the Democratic primary, she walked back from a previous proposal Clinton made for a national gun registry. But last year, without disputing the right for Americans to own guns, Clinton called American’s access to gun “way out of balance.”
Clinton is slightly ahead of Walker in recent polls. According to a poll in March by Rasmussen Reports, 46 percent of likely U.S. voters say they would vote for Clinton, but 41 percent would choose Walker. Eight percent would prefer another candidate, while 6 percent are undecided.
