Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has won the admiration of the National Rifle Association this year.
The nation's top gun lobby, a powerful and sometimes controversial election-year ally, has given Reid three $1,000 donations in the last 10 months as Congress wrestled with gun issues.
Reid has been a proven friend of Nevada gun owners, NRA executive director Chris Cox wrote to the senator in a thank-you note on Sept. 22.
"On behalf of the nearly 4 million NRA members nationwide, I wanted to thank you personally for your efforts in defending the Second Amendment during your tenure in Congress," Cox wrote.
The NRA typically throws its weight behind Republicans, but Reid enjoys more NRA support than most Democrats, aides said. Reid meets regularly with NRA officials, his chief of staff Susan McCue said. He met with them a few weeks ago to discuss Senate races, she said.
The NRA often waits to endorse candidates in the October issue of its member magazine. The group probably won't endorse Reid because of his support for background checks for buyers at gun shows, Reid aides said.
But the NRA has taken special note of the No. 2 Senate Democrat's votes this year, NRA spokeswoman Ashley Varner said.
"We know he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and we appreciate all his efforts," Varner said.
Specifically, the association notes:
Reid was unavailable for comment on his gun stances, a spokeswoman said. Reid has long been a strong believer in the Second Amendment, Tessa Hafen said.
Reid believes the assault weapons ban and D.C. gun laws are largely ineffective and step on the rights afforded by that amendment, Hafen said.
"We can pass a lot of legislation that makes people feel good, or we can be serious about passing legislation that is effective," Hafen said.
Reid also, at times, has earned praise from gun-control groups, including the Brady Campaign in Washington, an NRA rival.
In 28 gun votes in the Senate dating back to 1991, Reid has voted with the Brady Campaign's stance 60 percent of the time, according to the group. Reid supported the group's position far more often than most Republicans, but less often than most -- all but eight -- Democrats.
Reid's record this year has been frustrating for the Brady group, a spokeswoman said. Reid's support for repealing some strict anti-gun laws in the District of Columbia is hard to understand, Brady Campaign spokeswoman Annie Rosello said.
"They (lawmakers) are not the ones who live here," Rosello said. "D.C. has worked very hard to improve and get over its 'murder capital of the world' title. It's not good for the people of this city."
Reid, who served as a U.S. Capitol Police officer while he was in law school, keeps a number of guns in his Searchlight home, including pistols, a shotgun and a rifle, aides said.
Reid has spoken publicly about taking shots at the landscape-munching rabbits at his house, which have long frustrated him, aides said.
Reid's Republican challenger, Richard Ziser, said he also enjoys NRA support and would be a stronger gun-users advocate than Reid. But he does not expect a formal NRA endorsement, either.
"They don't like to go against a sitting senator," he said.
Ziser is also a longtime gun owner and said he once worked for a company that reloaded spent shells for police gun ranges. He faulted Reid for not pushing back gun-control activists such as Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. Ziser noted that the Gun Owners of America, another gun advocate group, gave Reid an "F" on its report card for lawmakers.
Robert Smith, president of the Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association, said he could not comment on Reid because his group is not political. But he noted that Reid was one of the lawmakers who helped guide legislation through Congress that transferred 2,880 acres of federal land to Clark County for a shooting range.
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