How does Gary Johnson feel about guns?

Answer 1

As a resident of a Western US state (New Mexico) he's familiar with a lot of people who own and use guns regularly for hunting, pest control, etc. His stated position on guns is that he opposes most restrictions on guns. Johnson says Americans would be safer if guns were more readily available, not more restricted. Johnson says the laws permitting "concealed carry" in some states have reduced violent crime. A criminal might think, he suggests, "Gee, do I try to steal this woman's purse in this parking lot, or seven or eight of these people who are around here, are they carrying weapons and I might get hurt, so I'm going to not accost her." Over the past five years, he himself has purchased two guns, kept at his home in Taos, for self-protection. He also sees possession of guns as a bulwark against government tyranny. Johnson also says he has a "nuanced" view of the Libertarian Party platform plank, which opposes "all laws at any level of government" restricting guns. He has stated, "We should be open to a discussion on keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill." He has observed that most gun control laws are largely ineffective at protecting people - that those who use guns for criminal actions are already willing to disobey the law; they ignore existing gun control laws and would ignore any new ones.