Ivey, Maddox campaigns battle over what it means to ‘support the 2nd Amendment’

The two campaigns for governor have clear disagreements about what it means to support the Second Amendment, as recent statements from both indicate.

Democrat Walt Maddox’s communications director, Chip Hill, told AL.com last week that Maddox “fully supports the Second Amendment,” while citing recognition he has received from Moms Demand Action, an advocacy organization supporting “new and stronger gun laws and policies to protect our children.”

Ivey’s campaign views Maddox’s “Gun Sense Candidate” designation from Moms Demand Action a clear liability.

“Maddox can continue to try to sell himself as a conservative Democrat, but even Alabama Democrats have historically supported gun rights and received endorsements from the NRA,” the Ivey campaign said in a statement Monday.

Moms Demand Action, which endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, define themselves as such:

Moms Demand Action supports the 2nd Amendment, but we believe common-sense solutions can help decrease the escalating epidemic of gun violence that kills too many of our children and loved ones every day. Whether the gun violence happens in urban Chicago, suburban Virginia, or rural Texas, we must act now on new and stronger gun laws and policies to protect our children.

Still, in a statement to Yellowhammer News, Hill argued that both Maddox and Moms Demand Action are supportive of the Second Amendment.

“Moms Demand Action, like Walt, supports the second amendment,” Hill said. “Walt was proud to receive their gun-sense candidate designation.”