In short order, the opposition will be doing all it can to define her politically in order to defeat her in that race. At this point she is just the grieving widow. She'll have a record we can look at. However, Carnahan is reticent to talk about many issues in detail right now. She supports gun safety measures and background checks on handgun purchases, but says the gun lobby unfairly targeted the Carnahans in a state where gun ownership is a significant issue.
Nobody wants to change that.
And for the NRA to make it look like we're doing that is irresponsible. Carnahan believes she has some standing on the subject, having received a sharpshooter's certificate in college. The Family Business Jean Carpenter grew up the only child of a hairdresser and a maintenance worker for the federal government, who often worked two or three jobs to make ends meet. Jean and Mel first met at a church function when they were 15 years old. The next day, when they showed up at Anacostia High School, they found themselves sitting next to each other because her name followed his alphabetically.