Actions Speak Louder Than Words PDF Print E-mail
Opinion
Written by Daniel White   
Monday, 27 October 2008 04:35

A lot has been said about the issue of gun rights during this presidential election season. Both candidates have expressed their support for gun rights in various campaign statements and commercials.

Only a few have tried to paint OFCC endorsee John McCain as a threat to gun rights, usually focusing on McCain's support for closing the mythical gun show "loophole". While most folks understand that the so-called loophole is merely the fact that private citizens and commercial vendors are subject to the exact same rules for selling firearms at a gun show as they are anywhere else (gun sales between private citizens are not subject to background checks, those between citizens and commercial vendors are), McCain seems to have bought into the misconception that this is a major problem that needs to be solved. One flaw, but not really a major threat to gun rights in general.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, has demonstrated a long history of opposing the rights of gun owners; though he has desperately tried to hide that fact. Actions speak louder than words, though, and the knowledgeable gun owner deserves to know what each candidate has done to preserve or restrict gun rights.

Despite airing commercials to the contrary, and trying to shut down ads aired by the National Rifle Association telling the truth, Senator Obama cannot hide from his public record.

Senator Obama has made campaign commercials claiming he fully supports gun rights, yet in a 2006 keynote address to Call to Renewal he stated, "I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturers' lobby." That doesn't exactly sound like support for the rights of gun owners. Does he really expect people to accept that living in the "inner city" should disqualify you from the right to own a gun? The Supreme Court certainly doesn't think so, and said as much in the Heller decision.

On July 15, 2007, the Chicago Tribune ran a story entitled "Obama Attacks Violence in Chicago." In it, Obama rails against the "power of the gun lobby in Washington" and blames it for blocking new legislation and claims it prevents enforcement of existing laws. As if the NRA is personally responsible for the deaths of children. He also mixed fantasy with reality by insinuating that it was possible to track down the identity of a murderer by "doing a background check from a bullet."

That article referenced a press release posted on Senator Obama's Senate Website that same day.

In that release, Obama expounded upon his feelings about gun rights. He called for the reinstatement of the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban", despite the fact that an unpublished 2004 study commissioned by the United States Department of Justice found that "assault weapons" were used in only a small fraction (less than 2%) of gun crimes prior to the ban. The Department of Justice's study concluded that the AWB had no real effect on crime, yet Obama believes "we need to make the expired Assault Weapon ban permanent," and in the third Illinois Senate Debate versus Alan Keyes said, "I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban." Another of his proposals is for the government "to invest more in programs like CeaseFire," which is an organization specializing in blaming guns for crime.

Obama also praised the lawlessness of Reverend Jesse Jackson and others which lead to their arrest outside of a gun shop where they were "protesting," calling it "inspiring to see what they're doing."

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was passed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2005, by a vote of 65-31. This Act was passed to prevent firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for crimes committed with their products. Had it passed, firearms manufacturers and dealers would have been sued every time a criminal committed a crime with a gun. This would have resulted in bankrupting the entire gun industry, a longtime goal of the anti-gun movement.

Senator McCain voted in favor of the Act. Barack Obama joined other notorious anti-gun Senators such as Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Chuck Schumer and in voting no. Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, also voted no.

During the 2008 Democratic primary debate in Philadelphia on April 16, 2008, despite trying to portray himself as a gun rights supporter, Barack Obama displayed his propensity for talking out both sides of his mouth. He said he would "work to reinstate the assault weapons ban" and that it "really was an aid to our police officers" (as already stated, the Department of Justice found no such thing). He also said that although he believes you have an individual right to bear arms, that right is only valid at the discretion of government.
As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right, and, you know, in the same way that we have a right to private property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that determine how you can use it. (emphasis added)

In his own words, he believes that your gun rights can be denied at the whim of any governmental entity. You can have gun rights except when we say you cant? How is that support for gun rights? Along those same lines, in 2004, he voted against letting people argue self-defense in court if charged with violating local weapons bans by using a gun in their home. Even to save a life, local bans win out in his mind.

Let's take a look at some more issues. Although Obama has refused to take the 2008 Political Courage Test, his answers from the 1998 National Political Awareness Test are a matter of record. Obama indicated his support for proposals to "ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons" and "increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms." Based on his other actions, I'm finding it difficult to believe he has changed his stance on guns in the last ten years. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Furthering attempts to hide the truth include attempts to silence the NRA. On September 23, the Obama campaign sent a letter to radio stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania to try to get them to not run the NRA's ads exposing the truth.

Obama also boasts of the support of the American Hunters and Shooters Association and tries to convince people that this means he is pro-gun. However, anyone who looks into AHSA will see that the organization was created by people with strong ties to such anti-gun organizations as the Brady Campaign, Stop Handgun Violence, and Handgun Control, Inc.

The Obama campaign has tried to use the Heller decision as proof that Obama will not come after guns. Nevermind the fact that Supreme Court justices he appoints could reverse the decision, or the likelihood that an Obama administration would simply apply the narrowest possible interpretation of the ruling to determine that your gun rights only apply to single-shot shotguns and only when and where they say it does.

Despite the rhetoric, Senator Barack Obama is not now, nor has he ever been, a friend to gun owners. Don't let the misdirection blind you to the truth, and don't allow other gun owners believe the lies. An Obama presidency would be disastrous to all the progress we have made since the anti-gun Clinton administration, and we simply cannot allow that to happen.