In Virginia, Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine is using images of Charlton Heston and the NRA to show that he's no enemy to gun rights. On his website, Kaine says that he is a friend of the Second Amendment and that he "will not propose any new gun laws." The problem for Kaine is, his record speaks for itself.

For starters, the NRA calls his ad misleading, and is demanding that he pull it. Then there's this inconvenient fact:

Kaine drew the hostility of the NRA by using taxpayer money from his City Council Paygo account to send eight chartered buses to the Million Mom March, a gun-control rally in Washington in 2000. After being criticized for the use of public funds, Kaine raised private money to reimburse the city.

But his anti-gun record doesn't start and end with the not-even-close-to-a-Million Mommies. Conservative, Republican (there is a difference), part-time blogger, and full-time Commonwealth's Attorney who is not necessarily named John Behan, has the scoop on Kaine. (Behan is a UVA fan, but nobody's perfect.)

Now, let's take a look at Kaine's history.

- When Kaine last campaigned, in 2001, Sarah Brady's gun ban lobby (formerly Handgun Control Inc) endorsed him, saying that "Tim Kaine is the clear choice" in his race for Lieutenant Governor.

- In a Virginian-Pilot story dated May 25, 2001 about the Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor, Kaine said that he was in favor of gun control.

- In a Richmond Times-Dispatch story dated August 26, 1997, we see this: "Councilman Timothy M. Kaine suggested that the city team up with Fairfax and Norfolk, the other major urban areas in Virginia, and push gun laws together."

- In an story dated June 15, 2000, the RTD reported this: "Flanked by a group of gun-control activists on the steps of City Hall, Kaine said he will continue to promote what he called common-sense gun legislation."

- After a Lt. Governor candidate debate in 2001, the RTD reported that the "candidates differed on little during last night's debate, agreeing on issues ranging from abortion rights to support of gay civil unions and the need for gun control."

Don't forget that Tim Kaine tried to lead a lawsuit against gun-makers, saying he and other mayors "want gun makers to do two things: change the way they do business and hand over a bunch of money."

Of course this should come as no surprise. A real pro-freedom candidate would say something like, "I support the individual right to keep and bear arms, and will fight to ensure that the right of law-abiding citizens will not be infringed." But when asked about gun control, Kaine gets defensive, evasive, or uses doublespeak like "I will not propose any new gun laws." (As if it were the Governor's job to introduce legislation in the first place.)