Gun rights ally Shane Hernandez chosen to be GOP Lt. Gov. candidate

Did you hear the news?

On Friday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon announced former State Representative Shane Hernandez as her running mate of choice for Lieutenant Governor.

While in the House, Shane was a strong ally of the gun rights community, and he still is today.

In 2017, he voted for Constitutional Carry (HB 4416-4418) when it came to the floor of the House of Representatives.

As you know, Constitutional Carry is the simple idea that law-abiding citizens shouldn’t have to beg for government permission just to carry a pistol for self-defense. It is already the law of the land in 25 states, including neighboring Indiana and Ohio.

And during the 2019-2020 legislative session, Shane jointly sponsored with State Reps. Matt Maddock and Steve Johnson legislation to repeal Michigan’s de facto pistol registration scheme (HB 5317-5319), the first time it had been filed in nearly a decade.

Michigan is only one of a handful of states to still have a form of firearm registration on the books, putting Michigan in line with anti-gun bastions like New York and Hawaii.

During the last effort to repeal pistol registration in Michigan back in 2012, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a clean bill to only see it gutted in the Republican-controlled Senate.

That’s where Shane Hernandez being in line to become the next Lieutenant Governor could be HUGE for gun owners!

You see, in Michigan the Lieutenant Governor is the President of the Senate, meaning that he runs the daily business of the Senate.

Not only that, but he also casts the deciding vote in the case of a tie vote.

After the “independent” redistricting commission drew the Senate maps friendlier for the Democrats, the chamber is a true toss-up in this fall’s general election, with a good possibility of a 19-19 tie.

In that case, having a proven pro-gun ally in the Lieutenant Governor’s seat like Shane Hernandez would be crucial to not only repealing Michigan’s draconian pistol registration scheme, but also for Michigan becoming the next Constitutional Carry state.

I’ve spoken with Shane many times about the value of fighting for our gun rights, even against the desire of his own party’s leadership. He knows that gun rights is a winning issue that Republicans should never back down from.

I know that while Shane Hernandez has been in Lansing either as a State Representative or as staff, he’s been pushing the Republican Party to be more aggressive when it comes to fighting for our gun rights and strongly opposing any talks of compromise.

In fact, his leadership in the House earned him the endorsement of the National Association for Gun Rights Political Action Committee during his run for Congress back in 2020.

If Shane goes on to be the Lieutenant Governor after the November elections, I look forward to rallying gun owners behind him as we work to send Constitutional Carry and the repeal of pistol registration to then Governor Tudor Dixon’s desk (who has pledged on her Great Lakes Gun Rights candidate survey to sign both into law!).

The GOP nominating convention, during which Shane Hernandez will either receive an up-or-down vote from delegates, is this upcoming Saturday.

Should he be approved, his name will appear on the ballot with Tudor Dixon as the Republican ticket for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Honestly, this appears to be the most pro-gun ticket Republicans have put forward in years and I am hopeful that if they are successful in their challenge against Gretchen Whitmer and Garlin Gilchrist, one of the major obstacles to restoring our gun rights will be gone.

With that said, it won’t come easily.

Whitmer has a massive campaign war chest that she’ll be using to push her radical anti-gun agenda this fall.

And even if Dixon-Hernandez ticket is successful this November, you and I will still have to put in the hard work to make sure Republicans uphold their promises to fight for our gun rights and actually do what they said they would do by repealing pistol registration and passing Constitutional Carry.

So please, if you can, consider chipping in $30 or even $10, to help Great Lakes Gun Rights have the resources needed to keep up the fight for our gun rights ahead of the November elections and in 2023!

I’ll keep you posted on the results of the GOP nominating convention as well as our plans to fight for our gun rights this fall.

For Freedom,