Gordon BallNASHVILLE - U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Gordon Ball is fighting back against his "F" rating by the National Rifle Association, accusing the powerful gun-rights group of putting out a "hit piece" on him without even contacting him.
"This comes as no surprise to me," Ball said Friday. He said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., "has received NRA money for years."
He added, "The NRA never contacted me, never asked me to fill out a questionnaire, and this is obviously a hit piece."
Ball said he is a gun owner and strongly supports the Second Amendment.
"I just happen to have a D in front of my name on the ballot," he said.
Alexander is seeking a third term in the Nov. 4 election and has been endorsed by the NRA's political arm, the Political Victory Fund.
On Friday, Alexander campaign spokesman Brian Reisinger said the "F" rating for Ball "provides more evidence he's just one more vote for Barack Obama's anti-gun agenda."
Reisinger added, "Lamar Alexander would be one more vote for a new Senate majority that will protect Tennesseans' Second Amendment rights."
In its news release, the NRA-PVF cited comments Ball made to KnoxViews, a blog the gun-rights group described as "progressive citizen media for East Tennessee."
The NRA-PVF said Ball "publicly endorsed" former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "overreaching and intrusive so-called 'universal' background check system that would require federal government approval for transferring firearms between lifelong friends and many family members."
The release also said Ball "stated he supports more restrictions on magazines and commonly used semi-automatic firearms."
Chris W. Cox, chairman of the NRA-PVF, charged that "on the issue of gun control, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between Michael Bloomberg, Barack Obama and Gordon Ball."
Ball said the NRA "didn't even ask me that question," simply looked at the online interview "and decided to give me a score for their pal Lamar."
In the KnoxViews interview, Ball said he supports people's right to own weapons for defense, adding, "However, we have to use common sense." He cited the mass shootings of Columbine, Newtown and Fort Hood, and said polls show that nearly 90 percent of Americans support background checks for gun buyers.
At the same time, he said, "I'm very mindful that an overwhelming number of our nation's veterans are proud gun owners. In crafting legislation that adds additional background checks, we need to be very cautious about not putting our veterans or active military members into a Catch-22 of seeking mental health treatment and potentially forfeiting their Second Amendment rights, or foregoing mental treatment to preserve the right to own and purchase firearms."
On Friday, Ball said Alexander ranks second to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in NRA contributions.
"Obviously the senator from Tennessee is taking this race seriously if he is asking favors from all his connections in Washington," Ball said. "If he wants to discuss these issues, let's debate and not just go to a breakfast forum scheduled for the second day of early voting."
Alexander has not yet responded to Ball's call for a series of Senate debates.
Both candidates have agreed to participate in a candidates' forum at a breakfast sponsored by the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation on Oct. 16. The format is not set up as a debate, organizers say.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.