Over Labor Day weekend, Senator Kerry was presented a gift from Cecil Roberts of the United Mine Workers of America: a brand-new (and union-made) shotgun.

It's a good gun, a Remington 11-87, successor to the time-proven Remington 1100.  Possibly the most widely used semi-automatic shotgun in America today.  I don't blame the Senator for accepting it with a smile.

Needless to say, the photo of Kerry admiring the shotgun has received wide publication.  Also needless to say, the Democrats were quick to see the photo's usefulness in combating their candidate's anti-gun record.  And once again, as before with the "Reporting for Duty" salute, it took less than a day for the incident to turn into another display of the tone-deafness of the Kerry campaign.

For the Senator, shotgun notwithstanding, is a sponsor of S.1431, "The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003" which bans any "semiautomatic shotgun which has a pistol grip."  That would be the "pistol grip" on which the Senator's right hand rests in the photo.  Opponents of gun control have been quick to point out the hypocrisy, eliciting a vitriolic rejoinder from the Kerry Camp.

Now to be fair, there's a bit of hyperbole in the accusation, but not much.  No doubt the "pistol grip" envisioned in Kerry's bill is the type commonly seen on military and law-enforcement weapons: a distinct handle-like grip projecting below the stock, around which the user can wrap his whole hand.  When referring to the typical sporting shotgun, and most rifles for that matter, a pistol grip means simply that the wood curves downward behind the trigger briefly before curving back upward and blending with the stock.  It permits a more comfortable grip at a more natural angle, with more graceful lines, but you still have to wrap your hand around the entire stock.  Compare the shape of Kerry's shotgun with an M-16 as carried by our troops, and you'll get the distinction.

But what has Kerry hoisted by his own petard is that, while he claims to be an avid hunter and supporter of gun rights, his own bill shows that he's about as familiar with guns as he is with McDonald's food.  For the bill is so sloppily written that it easily could, in fact, outlaw the shotgun he so proudly brandished.  And while he probably had no intention to outlaw grandpa's old bird gun, as an experienced legislator and politician he knows bloody well that there are powerful forces ready to exploit every ambiguity of the law in order to completely end private ownership of firearms.

We can't read the Senator's mind, but we can read his record, which is one of shameless pandering to the Left.  It follows that S. 1431 is just another sop to the liberal interest groups from which his candidacy draws its lifeblood.  A man who understands the shooting sports, and who supports the right of citizens to be armed, would never have lent his name to such a bill.  A man familiar with the terminology of firearms who in all good faith decided that certain weapons are inappropriate for civilian ownership would have paid closer attention to the details.  He would never have given the gun-grabbers such an opening.

Ronald Reagan's daughter Patty once told a story from her childhood about watching, with her father, a movie starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.  When they kissed in the final scene, it just didn't seem right to her.  Awkward, somehow unnatural.  She asked her dad about it, and he answered matter-of-factly, "You see, honey, Mr. Hudson doesn't have much experience with kissing women.  He'd really rather be kissing a man."

Kerry's shotgun waving, skeet shooting, and bird hunting are just a pose.  His heart is really in the gun control camp, and when he appears at the range or in the field, his tin ear shows through every time. His gun-handling habits are awkward, and at times actually unsafe. If you're all familiar with shooting, it's like watching Rock Hudson kissing Doris Day.

Michael R. Bowen practices Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and has a weekly column on America's Voices.

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