NRA Urges Tim Kaine to Stop Misleading Virginia Voters

Fairfax, VA - In a brazen attempt to mislead Virginia voters, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine deliberately misused comments made by former NRA President Charlton Heston.  Kaine’s campaign advertisement implies that Mr. Heston lauded Kaine for reduced crime in Richmond.  In reality, Heston was praising Project Exile, a program implemented prior to Kaine becoming Mayor of Richmond.

Chris W. Cox, chairman of the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) stated, “It is shameful and dishonest to manipulate comments in an attempt to mislead voters during this gubernatorial campaign.  We would like to set the record straight and ask Tim Kaine to cease and desist his false advertising campaign.”

Charlton Heston’s spokesman, Bill Powers stated, "Charlton Heston knows Jerry Kilgore.  They`ve campaigned together and spent time with each other.  There is no doubt that if Mr. Heston were to hit the campaign trail this year, he would be in full support of Jerry Kilgore for Governor."

Project Exile, a successful anti-crime program that strictly enforces all current federal, state and local gun laws against criminals, was recognized as a vital tool in reducing Richmond’s violent crime rate.  The National Rifle Association spent over $1 million to help start this program in Richmond.  Tim Kaine was not mayor when Project Exile was implemented.

In fact, as Richmond mayor, Kaine used taxpayer money to send eight chartered buses to gun control rallies (Richmond Times Dispatch, 6/15/00).   Also as mayor, he advocated suing lawful gun manufacturers for the actions of criminals (Richmond Times Dispatch, 3/14/99). 

Referring to Kaine’s suggestion in the advertisement that he had worked with Mr. Heston and that the actor supported him, Powers replied, “To my knowledge, Mr. Heston has never even met the man.  But you can`t teach honesty and class.”

“Clearly, Kaine’s record and rhetoric don’t match.  This raises a legitimate and disturbing credibility issue with this candidate,” concluded Cox.

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