I guess Kerry couldn't find his foot

Remember Nimrod Lurch and the shotgun given to him by the United Mine Workers on Labor Day in Racine, WV? Well, here's a surprise from the Charleston, WV Daily Mail - Kerry shotgun remains in state — and in news:

Presidential candidate John Kerry never took home a semi-automatic shotgun that stirred controversy when he accepted it at a Boone County rally, causing critics to claim the Democrat even flip-flops on photo ops.

Kerry's opponents and political Internet sites made hay from pictures of him accepting the gun at a Labor Day rally, saying the Remington 11-87 was one he had voted to ban in the Senate.

But Kerry hasn't been able to keep the gun because he couldn't transport it over state lines to his home in Massachusetts until he has filled out the proper paperwork.

"It's par for the course, John Kerry flip-flopping on the issues," said Ashley Varner, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association.

"We knew this was a photo op to confuse hunters and law-abiding gun owners because he has been so anti-gun in his 20 years in the Senate. Now his campaign strategy is to don blaze orange as camouflage of his true voting record against gun owners."

So what's the problem, Lurch?

The United Mine Workers, which presented Kerry with the shotgun that was made by union members who work for Remington, said the candidate knew beforehand he would not be able to take it home immediately.

For Kerry to keep the shotgun, he would have to fill out the proper paperwork through a federally licensed dealer. He also would have to pass a background check.

Now that might be a problem!

"We still have it in our possession," United Mine Workers spokesman Doug Gibson said. "We're waiting for him to fill out the proper paperwork. Senator Kerry has given us every indication he wants to keep the gun. He just has to finish out the campaign."

Sheesh, don't tell me that tedious paperwork has kept the Lurchster from getting his sweaty hands on his gift gobble gun!

The issue was the focus of a recent article in "Gun Week," a publication of the Second Amendment Foundation. Senior Editor Dave Workman wrote that Kerry did not have possession of the gun he accepted in West Virginia.

"It's probably in somebody's closet gathering dust," Workman said in an interview this week. "You wonder if he really will. If he actually does go ahead and get the shotgun, that's news."

Workman said most of his readers believe the gun gift was staged for the image that Kerry is for gun rights.

"My impression was it was a photo op and that's it," Workman said. "That impression is shared by a lot of people in gun community."
...
"It's obvious that he is really trying to present himself as a pro-gun, pro-sport shooting candidate," Workman said. "Unfortunately, his voting record in Washington, D.C., says otherwise."

I'm deeply saddened! I figured the Lurchster wanted to keep it as a treasured memento right alongside his Vietnam Chinese assault rifle and his magic CIA hat.

(Photo hat tip: FR)