Quote:
Romney says Obama will erode the rights of gun owners in speech to NRA
Published April 14, 2012
Associated Press
The presidential campaign briefly veered from the emotional Mommy Wars on Friday to the back-burner issue of gun rights, with Mitt Romney telling the National Rifle Association that President Barack Obama is not protecting gun owners -- even though the topic has rarely arisen during his time in office.
Without offering details, Romney said that Obama would like to erode gun owners' rights.
"We need a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners," Romney told thousands of NRA members in St. Louis for their annual convention. "President Obama has not. I will."
Obama has said relatively little about firearms, deeply disappointing gun-control groups. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said the president's record "makes clear the he supports and respects the Second Amendment, and we'll fight back against any attempts to mislead voters."
The gathering of gun enthusiasts comes as Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, is trying to woo conservative groups to consolidate his base after fending off challengers on his right. His relationship with gun owner groups is uneasy.
Running for the Senate in 1994, Romney said: "I don't line up with the NRA." A decade later he became a lifetime NRA member.
The NRA convention is a must-do for any Republican candidate. But this week it interrupted a new campaign narrative that Romney would like to extend: the view that top Democrats look down on stay-at-home moms.
Romney used the NRA setting, in the domed arena where the St. Louis Rams play football, to make his first public comments on the topic. He brought a central player and key supporter: his wife, Ann, who stayed home to raise their five sons.
Asked for details to support the claims, Romney's campaign said Obama has appointed judges, including Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who have supported moves such as placing temporary limits on importing semiautomatic assault weapons. The campaign said Attorney General Eric Holder has not adequately backed people's rights to own and use firearms.
But gun-control groups such as the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence have expressed dismay over the lack of attention to their concerns. In its most recent assessment, in 2010, the group flunked on Obama on all seven issues it deemed important.
Campaigning in 2008, Obama said: "I believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. ... There are some commonsense gun safety laws that I believe in. But I am not going to take your guns away." * Just in case you have forgotten, see zero's record below and compare w/above statement.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady group, said he is happy that Obama recently spoke in support of the family of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin and called for more national dialogue on gun violence following last year's shooting of then-Rep. Gabriel Giffords, D-Ariz., which killed six people.
"Our disappointment is that his voice is really yet to be heard in that conversation," Gross said. He said Romney is pandering to the NRA, a group he accuses of abetting the killings of thousands of people.
Neither Romney nor other NRA speakers -- former presidential contender Rick Santorum and still-trying candidate Newt Gingrich were among them -- alluded to the high-profile Martin case. A volunteer neighborhood watchman has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting the unarmed teenager, who was walking in a gated community.
The NRA strongly backed Florida's "stand your ground" law, at the heart of the unfolding case.
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Romney "believes that efforts to craft `stand your ground' legislation should be left up to the individual states."
When Romney ran successfully for Massachusetts governor in 2002, the NRA gave his Democratic opponent a higher rating on gun-rights issues but made no endorsement.
Massachusetts quadrupled its gun-licensing fee while Romney was governor. He signed a law that made permanent a ban on assault-type weapons, although it was coupled with some measures backed by gun-rights groups.
As he was considering his first presidential run in 2006, Romney became a lifetime NRA member.
Romney drew snickers in 2008 by claiming he sometimes hunts "small varmints." He showed more humility and humor last month in Alabama, where he said he hoped to go hunting with a friend who "can actually show me which end of the rifle to point."
Gingrich, who addressed the NRA convention after Romney, said the United Nations should adopt a treaty "to extend the right to bear arms to every person on the planet." Such "human rights," he said, would reduce rapes and child killings worldwide.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/...s#ixzz1s29aPdcs
Before all the zero apologists jump on board to tell us how the anointed one supports our 2nd Amendmant rights, please be specific as to just which one of his accomplishments listed below support these claims.
Quote: The following information was compiled from various sources.
Obama's Past record
1998-1999
Obama votes against a bill that specifically allows homeowners the right to use a gun in self-defense during a home invasion. The Illinois Governor vetoes the bill; Obama votes to uphold the veto.
In 1999, Obama proposes increasing Illinois firearm and ammunition excise taxes by 500 percent. (For example, a $55 tax on a $500 rifle would increase to $330.) The tax would thus change from a fee to fund wildlife preservation programs into a gun-punishing penalty.
2000
Obama sought moderate gun control measures, such as a 2000 bill he cosponsored to limit handgun purchases to one per month (it did not pass). He voted against letting people violate local weapons bans in cases of self-defense. Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.148 Oct 30, 2007
2002-2003
Obama votes to make a criminal out of a homeowner who used a gun in his own defense in his own home. While a State Senator, Obama votes for a bill that would ban most hunting rifles, shotguns, and target rifles; the bill would also authorize the Illinois State Police to raid homes and forcibly confiscate banned guns.
Obama votes four times during his Illinois State Senate career against legislation that would allow a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of his home and family.
Obama votes, in 2003, for a bill that classifies most single-shot and double-barreled shotguns as "semi-automatic assault weapons" and bans them, along with hundreds of models of rifles and handguns. (Had the bill had passed, Illinois residents would have had 90 days to turn their guns in or face felony charges.)
2004
In 2004, Obama says he is "…consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry," and that he would back "federal legislation that would ban citizens from carrying weapons, except for law enforcement." [444]
In March, 2004, Obama votes to allow prosecution of citizens who use guns for self-defense in their own homes (SB 2165).
Obama proposes legislation prohibiting gun stores from operating within five miles of a school or a park; inasmuch as most communities have schools and parks scattered widely throughout their areas, the legislation would effectively ban gun stores.
Obama voted for a bill in the Illinois senate that allowed retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons. If there was any issue on which Obama rarely deviated, it was gun control. He was the most strident candidate when it came to enforcin and expanding gun control laws. So this vote jumped out as inconsistent. (When I queried him about the vote, he said, "I didn't find that [vote] surprising. I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry. This was a narrow exception in an exceptional circumstance where a retired police officer might find himself vulnerable as a consequence of the work he has previously done--and had been trained extensively in the proper use of firearms."It wasn't until a few weeks later that another theory came forward about the uncharacteristic vote. Obama was battling with his GOP opponent to win the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police.) Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p.250-251 Aug 14, 2007
2005
A bill to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others. Voting YES would:
Exempt lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime
Exempt lawsuits against actions that result in death, physical injury or property damage due solely to a product defect
Call for the dismissal of all qualified civil liability actions pending on the date of enactment by the court in which the action was brought
Prohibit the manufacture, import, sale or delivery of armor piercing ammunition, and sets a minimum prison term of 15 years for violations
Require all licensed importers, manufacturers and dealers who engage in the transfer of handguns to provide secure gun storage or safety devices
Reference: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act; Bill S 397 ; vote number 2005-219 on Jul 29, 2005
Interviews and Debates with Obama
Q: Is the D.C. law prohibiting ownership of handguns consistent with an individual's right to bear arms?
A: 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, 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.
Q: But do you still favor the registration & licensing of guns?
A: I think we can provide common-sense approaches to the issue of illegal guns that are ending up on the streets. We can make sure that criminals don't have guns in their hands. We can make certain that those who are mentally deranged are not getting a hold of handguns. We can trace guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers that may be selling to straw purchasers and dumping them on the streets.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary Apr 16, 2008
Obama: Respect 2nd Amendment, but local gun bans ok
Q: You said recently, "I have no intention of taking away folks' guns." But you support the D.C. handgun ban, and you've said that it's constitutional. How do you reconcile those two positions?
A: Because I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respect the Second Amendment and people's traditions.
Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview Feb 11, 2008
Obama: Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing
Q: When you were in the state senate, you talked about licensing and registering gun owners. Would you do that as president?
A: I don't think that we can get that done. But what we can do is to provide just some common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. Then you've got the reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago. We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008
FactCheck: Yes, Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban
Obama was being misleading when he denied that his handwriting had been on a document endorsing a state ban on the sale and possession of handguns in Illinois. Obama responded, "No, my writing wasn't on that particular questionnaire. As I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns."
Actually, Obama's writing was on the 1996 document, which was filed when Obama was running for the Illinois state Senate. A Chicago nonprofit, Independent Voters of Illinois, had this question, and Obama took hard line:
35. Do you support state legislation to:
a. ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes.
b. ban assault weapons? Yes.
c. mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.
Obama's campaign said, "Sen. Obama didn't fill out these state Senate questionnaires--a staffer did--and there are several answers that didn't reflect his views then or now. He may have jotted some notes on the front page of the questionnaire, but some answers didn't reflect his views."
Source: FactCheck.org analysis of 2008 Philadelphia primary debate Apr 16, 2008
Obama: Stop unscrupulous gun dealers dumping guns in cities
Q: How would you address gun violence that continues to be the #1 cause of death among African-American men?
A: You know, when the massacre happened at Virginia Tech, I think all of us were grief stricken and shocked by the carnage. But in this year alone, in Chicago, we've had 34 Chicago public school students gunned down and killed. And for the most part, there has been silence. We know what to do. We've got to enforce the gun laws that are on the books. We've got to make sure that unscrupulous gun dealers aren't loading up vans and dumping guns in our communities, because we know they're not made in our communities. There aren't any gun manufacturers here, right here in the middle of Detroit. But what we also have to do is to make sure that we change our politics so that we care just as much about those 30-some children in Chicago who've been shot as we do the children in Virginia Tech. That's a mindset that we have to have in the White House and we don't have it right now.
Source: 2007 NAACP Presidential Primary Forum Jul 12, 2007
Obama: Keep guns out of inner cities--but also problem of morality
I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturer's lobby. But I also believe that when a gangbanger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels someone disrespected him, we have a problem of morality. Not only do we need to punish that man for his crime, but we need to acknowledge that there's a hole in his heart, one that government programs alone may not be able to repair. Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.215 Oct 1, 2006
Obama: Bush erred in failing to renew assault weapons ban
KEYES: [to Obama]: I am a strong believer in the second amendment. The gun control mentality is ruthlessly absurd. It suggests that we should pass a law that prevents law abiding citizens from carrying weapons. You end up with a situation where the crook have all the guns and the law abiding citizens cannot defend themselves. I guess that's good enough for Senator Obama who voted against the bill that would have allowed homeowners to defend themselves if their homes were broken into.
OBAMA: Let's be honest. Mr. Keyes does not believe in common gun control measures like the assault weapons bill. Mr. Keyes does not believe in any limits from what I can tell with respect to the possession of guns, including assault weapons that have only one purpose, to kill people. I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban.
Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes Oct 21, 2004
Obama: Ban semi-automatics, and more possession restrictions
Principles that Obama supports on gun issues:
Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test Jul 2, 1998
Judge for yourself what needs to be done with this man in control of the World's Formerly Most Powerful and Free Nation.
Nathan Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able to do so, until the end of Time. Visit the blog: The Gospel Sower
More of his agenda:
Congress vs. Pesident and the veto. That is only so much of the pie. You forget the Administrative Law state. Federal agencies, a part of the executive branch, pass federal regulations that have the force of law. See the Code of Federal Regulations. The EPA, Dept. of Energy, the DOJ, HS, ATF and the NLRB all have run amok and congress has proven incapable of reigning in their socialist agendas with their oversight responsibility. You don't think that the cabinet members and agency heads don't take their marching orders directly from the President. The President does not need congressional approval to encourage the EPA to propose rules outlawing lead bullets and shot. Congress had nothing to do with Fast and Furious, that was Eric Holder's brain child. And we have not yet discussed the Tsars and quite illegal recess appointments. Those are all end runs around congress. Obama is the biggest threat to the 2nd Amendment that has ever occupied the White House. He is smart enough to disquise this agenda and keep it at the Ad Law level. However, if you don't think they have an active anti-2nd Amendment agenda, you are a candidate for the sucker punch.
You really need to find out what your union bosses are up to.
This comes from "Labor Union Report".com
In 2008, most union bosses had to work hard to convince their union members to vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Despite the fact that the Machinists’ union boss Tom Buffenbarger considered Obama a “thespian” and “Janus, the two-faced Roman god of ancient times,” others union bosses like the SEIU’s Andy Stern were wholly on board the Obama bandwagon early on. One of them was the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka, who told union members that they were racists if they did not vote for Obama:
"There’s not a single, good reason for any worker—especially any union member—to vote against Barack Obama…And, there’s only one really, really bad reason to vote against Barack Obama and that’s because he’s not white."
After Obama’s April 2008 loose-tongue slip about Americans who “cling to guns or religion,” union bosses had to work doubly hard to convince those union members who do, in fact, cling to their guns that Barack Obama wasn’t pro-gun control (despite his record).
Across the country, union bosses fanned out to spread the message: Barack Obama WON’T Take Away Your Gun…
Were union members misled on Obama’s stance on gun control?
Back in March, BigGovernment’s John Lott, Jr. observed:
"The Obama administration has been a consistent opponent of gun ownership. It has enacted a ban on the importation of semiautomatic guns because: “The U.S. insisted that imports of the aging rifles could cause problems such as firearm accidents.” They have also tried imposing much more extensive reporting requirements on sales of long guns. However, possibly the biggest threat isObama’s nomination of Andrew Traver to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. There is also the Obama administration’s push for the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty and itscontinual inaccurate statements about the source of Mexico’s crime guns. In addition, President Obama’s appointments to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, are adamantly against any protection for individual ownership of guns. If one of the five justices in the majority of the Heller or McDonald cases were to die or retire, not only would further gains be prevented, but even those two precedents would be threatened."
Back in April, the Washington Post reported* an exchange that took place (presumably) at the White House:
"On March 30, the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, Jim Brady, who sustained a debilitating head wound in the attack, and his wife, Sarah, came to Capitol Hill to push for a ban on the controversial “large magazines.” Brady, for whom the law requiring background checks on handgun purchasers is named, then met with White House press secretary Jay Carney. During the meeting, President Obama dropped in and, according to Sarah Brady, brought up the issue of gun control, “to fill us in that it was very much on his agenda,” she said.
“I just want you to know that we are working on it,” Brady recalled the president telling them. “We have to go through a few processes, but under the radar.”
Remember in November!
Regards,
hm
Romney says Obama will erode the rights of gun owners in speech to NRA
Published April 14, 2012
Associated Press
The presidential campaign briefly veered from the emotional Mommy Wars on Friday to the back-burner issue of gun rights, with Mitt Romney telling the National Rifle Association that President Barack Obama is not protecting gun owners -- even though the topic has rarely arisen during his time in office.
Without offering details, Romney said that Obama would like to erode gun owners' rights.
"We need a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners," Romney told thousands of NRA members in St. Louis for their annual convention. "President Obama has not. I will."
Obama has said relatively little about firearms, deeply disappointing gun-control groups. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said the president's record "makes clear the he supports and respects the Second Amendment, and we'll fight back against any attempts to mislead voters."
The gathering of gun enthusiasts comes as Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, is trying to woo conservative groups to consolidate his base after fending off challengers on his right. His relationship with gun owner groups is uneasy.
Running for the Senate in 1994, Romney said: "I don't line up with the NRA." A decade later he became a lifetime NRA member.
The NRA convention is a must-do for any Republican candidate. But this week it interrupted a new campaign narrative that Romney would like to extend: the view that top Democrats look down on stay-at-home moms.
Romney used the NRA setting, in the domed arena where the St. Louis Rams play football, to make his first public comments on the topic. He brought a central player and key supporter: his wife, Ann, who stayed home to raise their five sons.
Asked for details to support the claims, Romney's campaign said Obama has appointed judges, including Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who have supported moves such as placing temporary limits on importing semiautomatic assault weapons. The campaign said Attorney General Eric Holder has not adequately backed people's rights to own and use firearms.
But gun-control groups such as the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence have expressed dismay over the lack of attention to their concerns. In its most recent assessment, in 2010, the group flunked on Obama on all seven issues it deemed important.
Campaigning in 2008, Obama said: "I believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. ... There are some commonsense gun safety laws that I believe in. But I am not going to take your guns away." * Just in case you have forgotten, see zero's record below and compare w/above statement.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady group, said he is happy that Obama recently spoke in support of the family of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin and called for more national dialogue on gun violence following last year's shooting of then-Rep. Gabriel Giffords, D-Ariz., which killed six people.
"Our disappointment is that his voice is really yet to be heard in that conversation," Gross said. He said Romney is pandering to the NRA, a group he accuses of abetting the killings of thousands of people.
Neither Romney nor other NRA speakers -- former presidential contender Rick Santorum and still-trying candidate Newt Gingrich were among them -- alluded to the high-profile Martin case. A volunteer neighborhood watchman has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting the unarmed teenager, who was walking in a gated community.
The NRA strongly backed Florida's "stand your ground" law, at the heart of the unfolding case.
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Romney "believes that efforts to craft `stand your ground' legislation should be left up to the individual states."
When Romney ran successfully for Massachusetts governor in 2002, the NRA gave his Democratic opponent a higher rating on gun-rights issues but made no endorsement.
Massachusetts quadrupled its gun-licensing fee while Romney was governor. He signed a law that made permanent a ban on assault-type weapons, although it was coupled with some measures backed by gun-rights groups.
As he was considering his first presidential run in 2006, Romney became a lifetime NRA member.
Romney drew snickers in 2008 by claiming he sometimes hunts "small varmints." He showed more humility and humor last month in Alabama, where he said he hoped to go hunting with a friend who "can actually show me which end of the rifle to point."
Gingrich, who addressed the NRA convention after Romney, said the United Nations should adopt a treaty "to extend the right to bear arms to every person on the planet." Such "human rights," he said, would reduce rapes and child killings worldwide.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/...s#ixzz1s29aPdcs
Before all the zero apologists jump on board to tell us how the anointed one supports our 2nd Amendmant rights, please be specific as to just which one of his accomplishments listed below support these claims.
Quote: The following information was compiled from various sources.
Obama's Past record
1998-1999
Obama votes against a bill that specifically allows homeowners the right to use a gun in self-defense during a home invasion. The Illinois Governor vetoes the bill; Obama votes to uphold the veto.
In 1999, Obama proposes increasing Illinois firearm and ammunition excise taxes by 500 percent. (For example, a $55 tax on a $500 rifle would increase to $330.) The tax would thus change from a fee to fund wildlife preservation programs into a gun-punishing penalty.
2000
Obama sought moderate gun control measures, such as a 2000 bill he cosponsored to limit handgun purchases to one per month (it did not pass). He voted against letting people violate local weapons bans in cases of self-defense. Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.148 Oct 30, 2007
2002-2003
Obama votes to make a criminal out of a homeowner who used a gun in his own defense in his own home. While a State Senator, Obama votes for a bill that would ban most hunting rifles, shotguns, and target rifles; the bill would also authorize the Illinois State Police to raid homes and forcibly confiscate banned guns.
Obama votes four times during his Illinois State Senate career against legislation that would allow a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of his home and family.
Obama votes, in 2003, for a bill that classifies most single-shot and double-barreled shotguns as "semi-automatic assault weapons" and bans them, along with hundreds of models of rifles and handguns. (Had the bill had passed, Illinois residents would have had 90 days to turn their guns in or face felony charges.)
2004
In 2004, Obama says he is "…consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry," and that he would back "federal legislation that would ban citizens from carrying weapons, except for law enforcement." [444]
In March, 2004, Obama votes to allow prosecution of citizens who use guns for self-defense in their own homes (SB 2165).
Obama proposes legislation prohibiting gun stores from operating within five miles of a school or a park; inasmuch as most communities have schools and parks scattered widely throughout their areas, the legislation would effectively ban gun stores.
Obama voted for a bill in the Illinois senate that allowed retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons. If there was any issue on which Obama rarely deviated, it was gun control. He was the most strident candidate when it came to enforcin and expanding gun control laws. So this vote jumped out as inconsistent. (When I queried him about the vote, he said, "I didn't find that [vote] surprising. I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry. This was a narrow exception in an exceptional circumstance where a retired police officer might find himself vulnerable as a consequence of the work he has previously done--and had been trained extensively in the proper use of firearms."It wasn't until a few weeks later that another theory came forward about the uncharacteristic vote. Obama was battling with his GOP opponent to win the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police.) Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p.250-251 Aug 14, 2007
2005
A bill to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others. Voting YES would:
Exempt lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime
Exempt lawsuits against actions that result in death, physical injury or property damage due solely to a product defect
Call for the dismissal of all qualified civil liability actions pending on the date of enactment by the court in which the action was brought
Prohibit the manufacture, import, sale or delivery of armor piercing ammunition, and sets a minimum prison term of 15 years for violations
Require all licensed importers, manufacturers and dealers who engage in the transfer of handguns to provide secure gun storage or safety devices
Reference: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act; Bill S 397 ; vote number 2005-219 on Jul 29, 2005
Interviews and Debates with Obama
Q: Is the D.C. law prohibiting ownership of handguns consistent with an individual's right to bear arms?
A: 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, 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.
Q: But do you still favor the registration & licensing of guns?
A: I think we can provide common-sense approaches to the issue of illegal guns that are ending up on the streets. We can make sure that criminals don't have guns in their hands. We can make certain that those who are mentally deranged are not getting a hold of handguns. We can trace guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers that may be selling to straw purchasers and dumping them on the streets.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary Apr 16, 2008
Obama: Respect 2nd Amendment, but local gun bans ok
Q: You said recently, "I have no intention of taking away folks' guns." But you support the D.C. handgun ban, and you've said that it's constitutional. How do you reconcile those two positions?
A: Because I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respect the Second Amendment and people's traditions.
Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview Feb 11, 2008
Obama: Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing
Q: When you were in the state senate, you talked about licensing and registering gun owners. Would you do that as president?
A: I don't think that we can get that done. But what we can do is to provide just some common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. Then you've got the reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago. We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008
FactCheck: Yes, Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban
Obama was being misleading when he denied that his handwriting had been on a document endorsing a state ban on the sale and possession of handguns in Illinois. Obama responded, "No, my writing wasn't on that particular questionnaire. As I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns."
Actually, Obama's writing was on the 1996 document, which was filed when Obama was running for the Illinois state Senate. A Chicago nonprofit, Independent Voters of Illinois, had this question, and Obama took hard line:
35. Do you support state legislation to:
a. ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes.
b. ban assault weapons? Yes.
c. mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.
Obama's campaign said, "Sen. Obama didn't fill out these state Senate questionnaires--a staffer did--and there are several answers that didn't reflect his views then or now. He may have jotted some notes on the front page of the questionnaire, but some answers didn't reflect his views."
Source: FactCheck.org analysis of 2008 Philadelphia primary debate Apr 16, 2008
Obama: Stop unscrupulous gun dealers dumping guns in cities
Q: How would you address gun violence that continues to be the #1 cause of death among African-American men?
A: You know, when the massacre happened at Virginia Tech, I think all of us were grief stricken and shocked by the carnage. But in this year alone, in Chicago, we've had 34 Chicago public school students gunned down and killed. And for the most part, there has been silence. We know what to do. We've got to enforce the gun laws that are on the books. We've got to make sure that unscrupulous gun dealers aren't loading up vans and dumping guns in our communities, because we know they're not made in our communities. There aren't any gun manufacturers here, right here in the middle of Detroit. But what we also have to do is to make sure that we change our politics so that we care just as much about those 30-some children in Chicago who've been shot as we do the children in Virginia Tech. That's a mindset that we have to have in the White House and we don't have it right now.
Source: 2007 NAACP Presidential Primary Forum Jul 12, 2007
Obama: Keep guns out of inner cities--but also problem of morality
I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturer's lobby. But I also believe that when a gangbanger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels someone disrespected him, we have a problem of morality. Not only do we need to punish that man for his crime, but we need to acknowledge that there's a hole in his heart, one that government programs alone may not be able to repair. Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.215 Oct 1, 2006
Obama: Bush erred in failing to renew assault weapons ban
KEYES: [to Obama]: I am a strong believer in the second amendment. The gun control mentality is ruthlessly absurd. It suggests that we should pass a law that prevents law abiding citizens from carrying weapons. You end up with a situation where the crook have all the guns and the law abiding citizens cannot defend themselves. I guess that's good enough for Senator Obama who voted against the bill that would have allowed homeowners to defend themselves if their homes were broken into.
OBAMA: Let's be honest. Mr. Keyes does not believe in common gun control measures like the assault weapons bill. Mr. Keyes does not believe in any limits from what I can tell with respect to the possession of guns, including assault weapons that have only one purpose, to kill people. I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban.
Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes Oct 21, 2004
Obama: Ban semi-automatics, and more possession restrictions
Principles that Obama supports on gun issues:
Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test Jul 2, 1998
Judge for yourself what needs to be done with this man in control of the World's Formerly Most Powerful and Free Nation.
Nathan Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able to do so, until the end of Time. Visit the blog: The Gospel Sower
More of his agenda:
Congress vs. Pesident and the veto. That is only so much of the pie. You forget the Administrative Law state. Federal agencies, a part of the executive branch, pass federal regulations that have the force of law. See the Code of Federal Regulations. The EPA, Dept. of Energy, the DOJ, HS, ATF and the NLRB all have run amok and congress has proven incapable of reigning in their socialist agendas with their oversight responsibility. You don't think that the cabinet members and agency heads don't take their marching orders directly from the President. The President does not need congressional approval to encourage the EPA to propose rules outlawing lead bullets and shot. Congress had nothing to do with Fast and Furious, that was Eric Holder's brain child. And we have not yet discussed the Tsars and quite illegal recess appointments. Those are all end runs around congress. Obama is the biggest threat to the 2nd Amendment that has ever occupied the White House. He is smart enough to disquise this agenda and keep it at the Ad Law level. However, if you don't think they have an active anti-2nd Amendment agenda, you are a candidate for the sucker punch.
You really need to find out what your union bosses are up to.
This comes from "Labor Union Report".com
In 2008, most union bosses had to work hard to convince their union members to vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Despite the fact that the Machinists’ union boss Tom Buffenbarger considered Obama a “thespian” and “Janus, the two-faced Roman god of ancient times,” others union bosses like the SEIU’s Andy Stern were wholly on board the Obama bandwagon early on. One of them was the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka, who told union members that they were racists if they did not vote for Obama:
"There’s not a single, good reason for any worker—especially any union member—to vote against Barack Obama…And, there’s only one really, really bad reason to vote against Barack Obama and that’s because he’s not white."
After Obama’s April 2008 loose-tongue slip about Americans who “cling to guns or religion,” union bosses had to work doubly hard to convince those union members who do, in fact, cling to their guns that Barack Obama wasn’t pro-gun control (despite his record).
Across the country, union bosses fanned out to spread the message: Barack Obama WON’T Take Away Your Gun…
Were union members misled on Obama’s stance on gun control?
Back in March, BigGovernment’s John Lott, Jr. observed:
"The Obama administration has been a consistent opponent of gun ownership. It has enacted a ban on the importation of semiautomatic guns because: “The U.S. insisted that imports of the aging rifles could cause problems such as firearm accidents.” They have also tried imposing much more extensive reporting requirements on sales of long guns. However, possibly the biggest threat isObama’s nomination of Andrew Traver to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. There is also the Obama administration’s push for the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty and itscontinual inaccurate statements about the source of Mexico’s crime guns. In addition, President Obama’s appointments to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, are adamantly against any protection for individual ownership of guns. If one of the five justices in the majority of the Heller or McDonald cases were to die or retire, not only would further gains be prevented, but even those two precedents would be threatened."
Back in April, the Washington Post reported* an exchange that took place (presumably) at the White House:
"On March 30, the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, Jim Brady, who sustained a debilitating head wound in the attack, and his wife, Sarah, came to Capitol Hill to push for a ban on the controversial “large magazines.” Brady, for whom the law requiring background checks on handgun purchasers is named, then met with White House press secretary Jay Carney. During the meeting, President Obama dropped in and, according to Sarah Brady, brought up the issue of gun control, “to fill us in that it was very much on his agenda,” she said.
“I just want you to know that we are working on it,” Brady recalled the president telling them. “We have to go through a few processes, but under the radar.”
Remember in November!
Regards,
hm
