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Gun rights advocates split between McCollum, Dockery

Posted Nov 12, 2009 by William March

Updated Nov 12, 2009 at 04:59 PM

Florida gun rights advocates appear to be splitting up between Republican candidates for governor, Bill McCollum and Paula Dockery.

Marion Hammer, influential state NRA lobbyist, endorses Dockery—a fact Dockery trumpeted at some length in her first campaign speech at a kickoff rally Tuesday night.

But Bill Bunting, influential Pasco County Republican Party official and informal head of a statewide network of gun enthusiasts, backs McCollum.

Both McCollum and Dockery have histories of supporting gun rights. Bunting says McCollum’s work has been more valuable, noting that as attorney general, he filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a case that seeks to establish that owning a gun is an individual right under the Constitution that can’t be abrogated by state law.

Hammer “should butt out,” Bunting said bluntly.

Hammer, meanwhile, cites Dockery’s “perfect A+ record on Second Amendment issues,” and says she “has been and continues to be an outstanding leader in our fight to protect and preserve gun rights in Florida.”

Both Hammer and Bunting have large email lists of avid supporters eager to vote for pro-gun candidates.