RICHTON PARK–(ENEWSPF)–January 31, 2013. Today, Robin Kelly, candidate for Congress in Illinois’ second district, called on National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre to release the questionnaires previously submitted by opponents Debbie Halvorson and Toi Hutchinson. This comes after repeated calls for the candidates themselves to come clean about the promises they made to the NRA. The full text of the letter to Mr. LaPierre is below:
Dear Mr. LaPierre:
While you publicly display a great deal of bravado about your position on guns and the positions of your favored candidates, your organization goes to great lengths to hide the views of your candidates from the people. I find this contradiction disturbing.
Worst of all, voters are left with ratings by which they can judge your endorsed candidates, but without an ability to see the answers that lead you to give them such grades.
As you know, in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional district, there are two candidates, Toi Hutchinson and Debbie Halvorson, who have received ‘A’ ratings in their past races for public office.
If you actually believe in the positions you champion and you, like me and countless other citizens, actually believe that voters have a right to know that public officials are telling them the same thing as they are telling organizations like yours, I call on you to release all previous questionnaires filled out by both Senator Toi Hutchinson and Former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson.
By releasing these questionnaires, you’ll help voters determine whether or not Mrs. Hutchinson and Mrs. Halvorson are proud allies of the NRA as they have claimed to be, or if they have “always” supported reasonable gun control measures, as both are now claiming.
While I am proud to have received an ‘F’ rating from your organization and am proud to disagree with what you stand for, I remain optimistic that you will release these questionnaires and provide the public with the answers they deserve.
Sincerely,
Robin Kelly
“The citizens have a right to know what their candidates and elected officials have promised special interest groups like the National Rifle Association, and if Toi Hutchinson and Debbie Halvorson have nothing to hide, they will certainly have no problem releasing their questionnaires immediately,” said Robin Kelly.
Robin Kelly is the only candidate in the race to issue a five-point pledge to combat gun violence and has earned an ‘F’ rating with the NRA. Both Debbie Halvorson and Toi Hutchinson scored ‘A’ ratings with the NRA in previous elections, but have yet to release the candidate questionnaires that earned them high ratings from the pro-gun group.
