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Giuliani Talks Gun Control, Stem Cell Funding NewsMax.com Wires
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, a strong proponent of gun control during his years as New York mayor, told a Southern audience Friday that he supports the constitutional right to bear arms. During a town-hall style meeting, Giuliani focused on combatting terrorism, cutting taxes and ending illegal immigration. Several in the audience of some 200 raised questions about issues at the forefront for some conservative Southerners: gun rights and embryonic stem-cell research. "It doesn't matter if I believe in it or not — and I do — it is the Second Amendment," Giuliani said. "I'm a strict constructionist. The Second Amendment says you have an individual right to bear arms." Giuliani earned a reputation for strictly enforcing gun laws while New York mayor. Asked about President Bush's recent veto of federal funding for stem-cell research, Giuliani said he could support government funding with "very, very strict limits" on the use of stem cells from human embryos. "The strict limits should be that life is not created for the purpose of destroying life and just for the purpose of scientific experimentation," he said to loud applause.
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In May, during a Republican presidential debate, Giuliani said he supported stem cell research "as long as we're not creating life in order to destroy it," then added he would back funding for research along the lines of legislation pending in Congress. However, the bill he cited does not increase federal support for research on embryonic stem cells. Rather, it dealt with adult stem cells. Earlier in the day, Giuliani campaigned in South Carolina, his first campaign appearance there since his former state campaign chairman, Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, was indicted on a federal cocaine charge last month. Giuliani said he was shocked to hear about the indictment. "That's something he's going to have to answer for," Giuliani said.
Ravenel, who was suspended from the treasurer's office he won in November, also stepped down from Giuliani's campaign. Ravenel, through an attorney, pleaded not guilty to the charge Friday. He is currently at a 30-day rehab program at an Arizona psychiatric hospital, according to court documents. Ravenel's father, a former congressman who also served in the state Senate, is still working for Giuliani campaign. On Friday, the Democratic National Committee accused Arthur Ravenel of making racist comments, including one in 2000 when he referred to the NAACP as "the National Association for Retarded People" during the state's debate over removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome. "Giuliani doesn't understand that as president you need to represent all Americans and bring the country together," DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement. Giuliani did not take questions from reporters when he returned to South Carolina later in the day to speak to supporters at an oyster company in Bluffton. Giuliani campaigned in the state with his wife, Judith, who doesn't often show up on the campaign trail. © 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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