NASHVILLE - A congressional candidate insists he wasn't threatening Democratic President Barack Obama in a Facebook post that showed a photo of his handgun.
The Tennessean reports that Republican Brad Staats, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper in the 5th Congressional District, posted a picture of his Colt pistol last week with the following commentary:
"Apparently Tennesseans are part of that crazy crowd that Obama says 'cling to (their) religion and guns.' Well, then I must be part of that crazy crowd. Here is something that I usually have with me. Welcome to Tennessee Mr. Obama."
Staats told the paper that the post was meant to contrast his support for the Second Amendment with the president's position on guns and was not meant as a threat.
"Good Lord, no," he said. "Absolutely not. I'm not one of those that would ever threaten the president. He's probably got enough of his own stuff to worry about without me."
A Secret Service spokesman said the agency was aware of the Facebook post and would follow up if necessary.
Staats said he took the state's handgun carry permit test earlier this year and that he has been a member of the National Rifle Association for several years. He said he carries his gun for protection.
"There are just a lot of law-abiding citizens here that carry their guns," Staats said. "There are a lot of people in Tennessee that believe in their Second Amendment rights."
Staats linked to the newspaper in a later Facebook post on his campaign page.
"So the Tennessean took one of my posts and called it a threat to Barack Obama, which was completely taken out of context," he said. "My post from Friday was regarding the fact that the UN Small Arms Treaty, passed last week will undermine our Second Amendment Rights."
The original post made no mention of the treaty, which according to a United Nations news release on Sept. 7 is aimed at "commitment to preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade" of small arms and light weapons.
The Cooper campaign declined to comment.
