The NY Sun reviews the position of the serious GOP presidential candidates on the most battered of all constitutionally-enshrined God given rights, that of self defense from crime and tyranny.

Mitt Romney:

As governor, Mr. Romney pledged to continue his state’s “tough gun laws,” which he praised for providing public safety. As a candidate for Senate in 1994, Mr. Romney supported the Brady bill, which imposes a five-day waiting period on gun sales and a ban on certain assault weapons. And as a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, Mr. Romney received a “B” grade from the organization. He only joined the NRA last year, and as of January, he did not own a gun.

John McCain:

For much of Senator McCain’s career, he accumulated a pro-gun record, but the Arizona lawmaker twice co-sponsored legislation that would regulate gun shows more strictly, which the NRA opposed. Furthermore, campaign advertising restrictions enacted under the McCain-Feingold bill further soured the senator’s relationship with the group.

Rudy Giuliani:

In an early campaign appearance with the radio talk show host Sean Hannity, Mr. Giuliani indicated that he would not support New York City’s gun laws on a national scale: “Yes, I mean, a place like New York that is densely populated or maybe a place that is experiencing a serious crime problem … maybe you have one solution there and in another place, more rural, more suburban, other issues, you have a different set of rules.”

But to the NRA, Mr. Giuliani’s stance means that the Second Amendment can be violated, so long as it is only on the local level — an unacceptable compromise.

Fred Thompson:

By comparison, Mr. Thompson’s relationship with gun-rights groups is sterling. A 2000 report from a campaign-finance watchdog group, Common Cause, found that the NRA, Gun Owners of America, and the Georgia Gun Owners PAC donated $188,954 to Mr. Thompson between 1993 and 1999; the groups donated more only to Dr. Frist.

Looking elsewhere, Tommy Thompson has an anti-gun record [ht to Alphecca]:

It’s one of the few issues that former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson and his Democratic successor, Gov. Jim Doyle, ever agreed on: Both opposed efforts to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons.

Thompson’s opposition to the bill effectively stalled it when lawmakers first floated the idea almost a decade ago. Doyle vetoed the bill when both houses passed it two years ago.

Now, back to the NY Sun, which notes:

Nonetheless, the endorsement of the NRA Political Victory Fund has correlated with every Republican presidential victory since 1980. In 1992 and 1996, the organization declined to endorse a candidate. After the 2000 election, President Clinton contended in an interview that NRA opposition cost Vice President Gore New Hampshire, Arkansas, and perhaps Tennessee and Missouri.

HT to InstaPundit for the Sun article.