Keystone Today

Pennsylvania voters, who will help decide the balance of the U.S. Senate, can view their incumbent as a prime example of a politician who runs in a pro-gun state as an advocate, but then behaves differently when in office.

According to a Sept. 19 article in America's 1st Freedom, Democrat Sen. Bob Casey Jr.'s current Second Amendment position is not aligned with the sentiments of Pennsylvanians because the state hasn't passed any of the kind of laws he seeks to enact from Washington, D.C.

In a virtually tied Senate race where 13% of registered voters remain undecided, top issues include the economy, illegal immigration and the fentanyl crisis. Could Second Amendment principles tip the scale for the stronger advocate?

Republican businessman and combat veteran Dave McCormick believes "law-abiding citizens have an individual right to own firearms for self-defense, hunting, collecting and sport-shooting, for any lawful reason” and that “neither Congress nor the states can take that away.”

When Casey first ran for office in 2006, he opposed all new restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms. He is seeking a fourth term.

"Now, he supports universal background checks, 'red-flag' laws, the prohibition of 'semiautomatic AR-15-style rifles with high-capacity magazines' and more," according to the America's 1st Freedom article by Charles C.W. Cooke.

Casey wrote about his transformation in a Washington Post op-ed in 2022.

“I’m a U.S. senator who has done something rare in today’s politics: I’ve changed my position on our nation’s gun laws," he wrote. "After doing so, I didn’t burst into flames or get run out of town.

"I came to Washington in 2007 with the firm belief that to support and honor Pennsylvania’s deep-rooted hunting culture meant that I should not support restrictions on gun sales or increased regulations."

Casey wrote that he changed his mind in 2012, follwing Sandy Hook. 

He wrote that the Senate should pass “extreme-risk protection” laws to temporarily remove access to firearms from those who might be a risk to themselves or others, while respecting due process.

"We also need to get serious about banning weapons of war in our communities," he wrote.

"These are not radical or new ideas. The overwhelming majority of Americans support common-sense gun-safety laws. There is also historical precedent for limiting civilian access to certain types of weapons."

In Cooke's article, he states that Casey would describe his views as "commonsensical."

"But this is belied by the fact that the state he represents has passed none of the laws that he wishes to impose on it from Washington, D.C. In truth, it is Casey’s opponent, combat veteran Dave McCormick, who is closer to Pennsylvania’s center of gravity."

Casey and McCormick face off in debate Oct. 3 in Harrisburg and Oct. 15 in Philadelphia. A third debate will be held in Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania also is considered the key presidential battleground, and the race between Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is virtually tied. 

In an apparent attempt to curry favor among pro-gun voters, Harris's flip-flop could be described as epic.

In 2007, while District Attorney in San Francisco, Harris told reporters: "Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn't mean that we're not going to walk into that home and check to see if you are being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your affairs."

In debate with Trump last week, she proclaimed she would not be taking guns away from anyone.

And on Thursday night, sitting in the round with Oprah, on the subject of gun control, she reiterated her new found appreciation for gun ownership, saying, "If somebody breaks in my house they’re getting shot." She then laughed.

Real Clear Politics' poll average shows Harris up by 1 point over former President Trump in Pennsylvania. (On Sept. 20, 2020, Biden was up 4 points and on same date in 2016, Clinton was up 6.6 points).