My Friend, Rand Paul, Challenges His Critics To A Duel, And Now Allison Lundergan Grimes Challenges My Buddy Mitch McConnell To A Shooting Contest After He Receives NRA Award! Let The Shooting Commence!!

Senate candidates tout gun-rights support

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell bagged an award Friday from the powerful National Rifle Association, while his chief Democratic rival in next year's Senate race defended her support of gun rights and threw down a marksmanship challenge to the Republican senator.

"Whenever he's not busy pandering to Washington lobbyists, I welcome Sen. McConnell to come shoot with me at the range any day," said Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes, an NRA member and skeet shooter.

Grimes' campaign released a photo Friday showing her shooting at her family's farm in northern Kentucky.

McConnell didn't respond to a reporter's question Friday asking if he'd be willing to test his shooting skills against Grimes' at a gun range.

The Grimes campaign pounced, saying McConnell "loves to talk a big game," but "when asked to back it up, he fails badly and walks away."

The senator was at a Bullitt County gun club to pick up the NRA's "Defender of Freedom" award and to recognize a sportsmen's coalition backing him.

McConnell was flanked by shotguns lined up next to flags, and boxes of clay targets were stacked by the podium. Empty shotgun shells littered the ground nearby.

Gun-rights issues are hot-button topics in Kentucky, where about 300,000 hunters are set to trudge through the woods in coming days in pursuit of deer.

Louisville businessman Matt Bevin, who is challenging McConnell in the GOP primary next spring, touted his own credentials. Bevin noted he and his wife have licenses to carry concealed weapons, and said he'd be a strong defender of constitutional rights. Bevin has been endorsed by the group Gun Owners of America.

McConnell, who is seeking his sixth term next year, aimed his criticism at President Barack Obama, who is unpopular in Kentucky, and gun control advocates.

McConnell said efforts to pass stricter gun laws in the wake of mass shootings were an example of the "nanny state" advocated by Democrats.

"After every dreadful, awful occurrence of some person with deep mental disability, their reaction to that is try to restrict your rights given to you under the Second Amendment to the Constitution," he told a group of supporters. "And there's very little talk about how to deal with the problem of mentally incapacitated people."

McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, said he's the prime target for national Democrats in next year's elections. He noted the blistering attacks already unleashed against him, then added: "I assure you, I'm not going to turn the other cheek." McConnell is known for his own bare-knuckled campaign style.

Mark Nethery, president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, said McConnell has an "impeccable record" of protecting Second Amendment rights.

The NRA said McConnell "stood with gun owners and hunters through the toughest of times."

McConnell was recognized by the NRA for a series of Senate votes, including his fight against bans on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. He also won NRA praise for helping block legislation that would have expanded background checks to include sales at commercial venues like gun shows and on the Internet.

Grimes, the state's secretary of state, said in a statement that her support for gun rights is "unquestioned."

"In the Senate, I will protect my fellow Kentuckians' right to keep and bear arms," she said.