On the day South Florida mourned a slain police officer, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson stopped in Miami and stuck firmly to his guns over what he says is the unnecessary call for limiting the right to bear arms. ''I do not think that abrogating Second Amendment rights is a good idea,'' the Republican said at the Versailles restaurant in Little Havana.
''The amount of violence created on the street by these kinds of weapons is very, very small,'' Thompson said. ``It's too bad. It's horrendous. Any kind -- whether it's a knife or an IED or a gun -- innocent people, especially law enforcement officers, are vulnerable all the time; we know that. But on balance, you've got to ask what is good for society and what does the Second Amendment say.''
Though such a position after the Thursday slaying of Miami-Dade police officer Jose Somohano will make Thompson the target of gun-control advocates, it's all but guaranteed to shore up his already strong support among gun-rights supporters. Gun-show promoter Victor Bean, for instance, is granting Thompson's campaign exclusive access to his shows.
Thompson, a former actor, lobbyist and U.S. senator from Tennessee, tours a Lakeland gun show Saturday. And he headlined a New Port Richey Reagan Day Dinner Friday evening, where a Colt .45 was to be raffled off.
Thompson made his remarks concerning guns to reporters and not supporters at Versailles. He later mentioned the need for strong Second Amendment rights during a speech in Cape Coral, on the Gulf Coast, where the crowd applauded
