Anti-gun Obama

I knew this yahoo was going to run for President since the Democratic Convention a few years back. FYI:

Obama to Get the Dems 'Barack' into the Business of Gun Control

by Erich PrattDirector of Communications

It sounded like a report from the National Enquirer. Dick Cheney and Barack Obama... cousins?
Say it ain't so, Mrs. Cheney.
But in fact, the Vice-President's wife revealed this bombshell in her recent book, Blue Skies, No Fences. According to Lynne Cheney, the current veep and the Illinois Democrat Senator, who wants to be the next president, are distant cousins -- eighth cousins, to be exact.1
When hit with this revelation, the Obama campaign took the news in stride, saying that, "Every family has a black sheep."2

All kidding aside, it's too bad that Dick Cheney and Barack Obama didn't do more shooting and target practice together in their youth, because today, they couldn't be more polar opposites when it comes to the Second Amendment.

Whereas one would be hard-pressed to find an anti-gun vote on Cheney's House record -- as he served the state of Wyoming for many years -- Obama's gun record is just simply atrocious.
Oh sure, Obama told Iowa radio listeners last year that he is a "strong believer" in the rights of hunters and sportsmen, and that homeowners should have a firearm "to protect their home and their family." But then in the next breath, he says, "It's hard for me to find a rationale for having a 17-clip semiautomatic [sic]."3

Good thing the ban on magazines that Obama supports was not in effect during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. That's when Korean merchants successfully used their semi-autos -- with large magazines containing multiple rounds -- to keep looters away from their stores. Their businesses remained standing, even while many others (which were left unprotected) burned to the ground.

Obama supports the existing gun control laws on the books. Nowhere in his literature or in his campaign speeches does he stake out a position in favor of repealing any gun control measure that has passed into law.

Not surprisingly, Obama supports the gun ban in the nation's capital, saying the "DC handgun law is constitutional."4 And he is opposed to people using guns for self-defense, when those guns are owned in localities like Washington, DC and Chicago where firearms are banned.
Illinois resident Hale DeMar was prosecuted by the town of Wilmette for using a handgun in his home to defend his family in 2003. Because Wilmette had imposed a ban on the possession of handguns, several Illinois state legislators introduced SB 2165 to protect the right of self-defense for residents like DeMar. True to form, Obama voted against the pro-gun legislation.

It is very telling that Obama moved further to the left than most of the liberal legislators in his state. The self-defense bill protecting gun owners like DeMar passed the state senate 41-16 and was later enacted into law over the governor's veto (and over Obama's opposition).

The concealed carry of firearms is another important issue for gun owners, and yet Obama is not only opposed to citizens carrying guns, he supports using federal laws to override those states which currently allow the practice.

In 2004, Obama said he supports a national ban on concealed carry because the states that allow it are "threatening the safety of Illinois residents."6 Never mind the fact that concealed carry laws have improved the safety of citizens in the states that have enacted such laws.7
Obama has also taken a strong position in favor of the Clinton semi-auto ban which sunset in 2004. "I believe we need to renew -- not roll back -- this common sense gun law," Obama said.8
Well, there's nothing that's "common sense" about the Clinton ban. Not only did it outlaw almost 200 types of firearms, legislators like Senator Chuck Schumer of New York tried to amend the law (before it sunset) to include additional types of semi-autos -- even banning classic (wood-stock) long guns such as the Remington shotgun which Senator John Kerry received as a gift during his 2004 presidential bid.

Bottom line: Senator Obama may not be as gun ban-crazed as the infamous Chuck Schumer. He may not lay awake at night dreaming of ways to disarm honest gun owners. But sure enough, Obama is a committed anti-gunner.