Thompson does impress the NRA

From The Washington Post:

Meeting with a more enthusiastic response was former senator Fred Thompson (Tenn.), who basked in warm applause despite his past support for campaign finance reform, which the NRA opposes. Thompson played up his edge over Giuliani without saying his rival's name, noting that he, Thompson, had visited a gun store and a gun show in recent weeks and that his gun-control beliefs "did not depend on geography."

"I never subscribed to the notion that it made our country safer to infringe on the rights of law-abiding American citizens," he said. "It's not just a matter of promises made. As far as I'm concerned, it's a matter of commitments that have been kept."

Asked whether stricter gun laws are justified in high-crime areas, Thompson shot back: "Nope. It's more than a coincidence that so many of the places with high crime rates have some of the toughest gun restrictions."

This is why I support Fred. It isn't just that he opposes gun control but that he frames his opposition not just as an abstract constitutional principal but as a practical matter. He explicitly recognizes that disarming the law abiding makes them less safe and contributes to a high crime rate.

He as much as said that those who support gun control in places like New York City have the blood of the innocent on their hands and are, in a moral sense, accessories before the fact to every criminal act in which a person who would have otherwise been able to defend him/herself is victimized.

This is important because people who view gun ownership as a positive good are more likely to attempt to roll back already passed gun control laws and support positive steps like national right to carry. He is also more likely to make opposition to gun control one of his list of qualifications in picking an Attorney General and in choosing Supreme Court justices.