Dan Boren, Jim Wilson Face Off On Gun Rights

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

UNDATED -- In Campaign 2010 - with the primary coming at the end of the month - candidates are firing off advertising to influence voters. In the race for U.S. House District 2, gun rights appear to be a key issue.

The ad that Dan Boren is running has him up a tree with a rifle, but his opponent Jim Wilson says it shows that Boren isn't targeting what really matters.

"We have a clear choice," the announcer says in Boren's advertisement. The ad says Wilson has been "named the ‘most liberal' state senator."

But the target of the ad says the label doesn't define him. It came from a blogger on the Huffington Post, which called him "the most progressive State Senator."

"Unfortunately those are labels that don't mean anything, and we need to look at what people stand for," said Senator Jim Wilson, (D)-Tahlequah.

Announcer: "Senator Wilson supports gun control and voted to limit our Constitutional rights."

Wilson voted against the open carry bill in the legislature this year - which Boren is using as a campaign issue.

"I'm Dan Boren, and I approved this message," the ad concludes.

"It's demeaning to me to think that the people are going to vote only a gun issue or that he thinks they are," Wilson said.

"And it also surprises me that he would dwell on the gun issue so much. I can't believe people in my District had rather talk about guns than feeding their families or healthcare," the Democratic Senator continued.

While Boren is running lots of advertising, Wilson says he's still hoping to raise money, so he can run positive ads.

"I believe in a living wage, and I believe in equal pay for equal work, and I believe in respect for each other," said State Senator Jim Wilson. "If those things are liberal, then that's the way it is."

So far, there has been no television advertising from Wilson with little time left to influence voters before the primary election July 27th.