Ronald Reagan, a TEA party icon and often quoted idol was pro gun control,
Originally Posted by Gazu
Are these some of the quotes you are talking about?
Google these and see if they are accurate.
Ronald Reagan in 1983, 2 years after his assasination attempt
You won't get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There's only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up and if you don't actually throw-away-the-key, at least lose it for a long time.. It's a nasty truth, but those who seek to inflict harm are not fazed by gun controllers. I happen to know this from personal experience...
Ronald Reagan in 1975
"Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection.
And again in 1975
"There are those in America today who have come to depend absolutely on government for their security. And when government fails they seek to rectify that failure in the form of granting government more power. So, as government has failed to control crime and violence with the means given it by the Constitution, they seek to give it more power at the expense of the Constitution. But in doing so, in their willingness to give up their arms in the name of safety, they are really giving up their protection from what has always been the chief source of despotism -- government.
According to his son he only signed the Brady bill in 86 as a favor to Brady.
Others say that's when his alzheimers started kicking in.