By: Brenden Boudreau

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that national Republicans are actively recruiting a primary challenger for staunchly pro-gun Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.

Republican State Rep. Kim Moser of the 64th House District told the Courier-Journal in an interview that she had been approached about a possible bid against Massie, in which she took a calculated swipe at the congressman, all but confirming her interest in taking on the Chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus.

What Moser conveniently left out of her interview is the fact that she and Congressman Massie are on opposite sides of an issue that is very near and dear to the hearts of residents in conservative Northern Kentucky: the Second Amendment.

Earlier this year, State Rep. Moser was one of a handful of Republicans to vote against Senate Bill 150, Kentucky’s popular Constitutional Carry law that just went into effect on June 27.

Senate Bill 150 passed with large majorities and bipartisan support in both the Kentucky House and Senate before being signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin on March 11.

Moser not only voted against Senate Bill 150, but attempted to explain away her anti-gun vote by claiming it is “very difficult” to vote to restore the right to carry a concealed handgun without first obtaining government permission, and that carrying concealed “should have a higher threshold,” despite being presented evidence in committee that Constitutional Carry states experience less crime than non-Constitutional Carry states.

Moser’s vote against Constitutional Carry not only puts her at odds with pro-gun constituents in Kentucky’s 64th state house district, which President Trump won with 67% of the vote in 2016, but also in Kentucky’s very conservative and pro-gun 4th Congressional District.

Perhaps Moser is looking to dip her toe in the water of a potential Congressional run, because she knows her anti-gun voting record could very well cost her in a Republican primary for her current State House seat.

In contrast to Moser, Congressman Massie is consistently one of the most pro-gun members of the U.S. House of Representatives, having just recently re-introduced his bill to repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act, as reported here at Gunpowder Magazine.

For his leadership on Second Amendment issues, Massie received the .50 Caliber Freedom Award from the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) back in 2018.

“Thomas Massie has the principles and guts to fight for the Second Amendment,” NAGR President Dudley Brown said in a statement the day before presenting Massie with the award.

After being a vocal opponent and vote against Constitutional Carry, Moser is going to have a difficult time convincing Republican voters in the 4th Congressional District that she should be trusted more than Thomas Massie in standing up for the right to keep and bear arms in Washington, D.C.

Brenden Boudreau is the Director of Field Operations for the National Association for Gun Rights, writing from Michigan. Contact him at [email protected]. Disclosure: In addition to his work with the National Association for Gun Rights, the author is also Executive Director of Great Lakes Gun Rights.