But Romney has taken pains this year to shore up his conservative position on gun rights. At a January debate in South Carolina, Romney said he enjoyed hunting and would oppose new efforts at gun control.
“I do not believe in new laws restricting gun ownership and gun use,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama wants to reshape the Supreme Court to soften gun rights, among other things.
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Romney’s campaign has said he owns two shotguns, although he has been vague about when he bought them and how often he uses them.
He received a standing ovation with muted applause as he took the stage Friday, but the crowd seemed to warm to him as he spoke.
Romney offered a broad critique of Obama’s “assault on our freedoms — our economic freedom, our religious freedom and our personal freedom” — pivoting from the gun issue to taxes and other concerns.
While Obama has not made gun control a priority in his first term, Romney accused the president of preparing to remake the Supreme Court with justices who could be unfriendly to gun rights, citing a comment caught by a hot microphone from Obama to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last month that he will have “more flexibility” to deal with missile defense after the election.
“I’m not exactly sure what he meant by that, but looking at his first three years, I have a very good idea,” Romney said.
Before he began speaking, Romney brought wife, Ann, to the stage, telling the crowd, “I happen to think that all moms are working moms. And if you have five sons, your work is never over.”
The comments were his first about the dust-up over a Democratic operative’s remark that Ann Romney had “not worked a day in her life.” The crowd applauded heartily.
At the convention, where attendees were handed NRA buttons that read “All In,” as they entered the stadium floor, some gun owners said they remain skeptical about Romney’s commitment to the Second Amendment.
“I have to say, I’m a little bit worried about him,” said Stormy Hyatt, 70, a retired trucker from Wapello, Iowa, who had been supporting Santorum. He said a rousing speech can help but could not assuage all of his concerns. “I really only believe half of what I hear,” he said.
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