As this unusual campaign season has unfolded, we`ve seen the candidates ratcheting up their politically expedient rhetoric in an attempt to distinguish themselves as the "candidate of choice" for every constituency, while testing the far reaches of credibility in the process. We`ve heard blatantly anti-gun politicians claim to be supportive of the Second Amendment. We`ve seen hypocrisy, and we`ve heard double-speak and insults to our intelligence.

The year 2008 will go down as an historic one in America--for the dramatic choices we`ll face in the presidential election, among other things.

To say that the 2008 elections will be crucial for the future of the Second Amendment would be an understatement. Future efforts to preserve our gun rights and our hunting heritage hinge on who will take the helm at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next January. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox recently sat down with presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain. They asked him some direct questions about his record and his philosophy. Here's what Senator McCain had to say.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard District of Columbia v. Heller, a monumental Second Amendment case that will likely decide whether you have an individual right to keep and bear arms.

he man who brought the heavens down to Earth through the power of his God-given talent is gone away now-gone to join those whom he portrayed with such persuasion. Charlton Heston, actor, advocate for individual rights and voice of reason in a time of turbulent political manipulation, relinquished the power of his rich baritone to the angels and, following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease, slipped gently into that good night.

With the sad passing of Charlton Heston, his lifelong record of courageously fighting for the restoration and preservation of the civil rights of all Americans comes sharply into our hearts and minds. Forty-five years ago, Chuck Heston marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to correct the wrongs of racial segregation--wrongs existing under the cover of unconstitutional state and local laws

Right now, one of the most anti-gun politicians ever to set foot in Washington, D.C., may be just one election away from the Oval Office, and far too few gun owners realize the true threat to freedom this candidate represents.