Kay Hagan Gets Friendly With Shooters and Hunters?

NC Senator Kay Hagan is spinning up the press machine to push for what she’s calling the Sportsmen’s and Public Outdoor Recreation Traditions Act (geddit? SPORT!). Here’s an overview of the bill, which at least in summary appears to be pretty unequivocally positive. The two main provisions of interest to recreational shooters include one about reserving more funds to build shooting ranges on federal land, and a second stipulating that the EPA can’t regulate “shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers” under the Toxic Substances Control Act. In other words, the latter part shuts the door on fears of backdoor gun regulation by restricting access to lead and priming chemicals.

A Democrat senator pre-emptively curtailing the Feds’ ability to regulate guns? What’s going on here?

Earlier this year, Hagan was very much on the fence about gun control, saying she wasn’t going to vote for any bans on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, although she voted for the Manchin-Toomey Amendment because it had exceptions for families. She’s not a 2A True Believer, but neither is she one of Feinstein’s zombies.

This announcement, compounded with the fact that she has been running campaign ads recently, a full year ahead of her attempt at getting re-elected in 2014 makes it look like she’s starting to worry.