Your Turn: Obama's stance on guns is wrong for Montana

Helenair.com ^ | 04/17/08 | By Erik Iverson

[bd476]

Your Turn: Obama’s stance on guns is wrong for Montana

By Erik Iverson - Your Turn - 04/17/08

When it comes to gun rights, Barack Obama isn’t shooting straight with Montana.

I’ll be the first one to admit, Barack Obama is one of the finest political orators I’ve ever heard. But he can’t talk his way out of this simple fact: his views on the Second Amendment are simply out of step with the values of a vast majority of Montanans. Through both his words and his deeds, Barack Obama has shown that if elected President, he will try and take away many of the freedoms we hold dear n freedoms that were bestowed upon us by our nation’s Founding Fathers.

When Sen. Obama spoke with reporters in Montana earlier this month, he falsely claimed himself a defender of the Second Amendment. I say falsely, because his record clearly demonstrates his opposition to gun rights on multiple occasions and that he harbors views contrary to the Montana Constitution as well as the United States Constitution.

Montana’s gun laws, and especially our concealed carry laws, are some of the most pro-Second Amendment laws in the nation. Yet just this month Sen. Obama said: “I am not in favor of concealed weapons … I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could [get shot during] altercations.” His mindset on guns is pretty clear — arm the criminals and prevent law abiding citizens from defending themselves.

Additionally, Sen. Obama refuses to stand up for gun owners and take a position on the Washington, D.C., gun ban case which was recently heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. Many legal experts are calling this the most important Second Amendment case ever to be heard by the high court, yet Barack Obama is nowhere to be found. This despite the fact that dozens of elected officials in Montana, both Republican and Democrat, have publicly voiced opposition to the ban and a possible “collective right” ruling.

And now we hear that just a few days ago, Sen. Obama told supporters at a fundraiser in San Francisco that those of us in rural America vigorously defend our Second Amendment rights only because we’re “bitter” about our lot in life. I don’t know how much more out of touch with Montana he can be. I suppose that’s why the National Rifle Association has consistently given him an “F” rating.

While his soaring rhetoric in campaign speeches can be enchanting, even spellbinding at times, voters in Montana and all across America, are beginning look beyond that flowery language and see the real Barack Obama. And what they’re seeing is that he can’t be trusted when it comes to protecting our gun rights. That’s why America needs a commander-in-chief that’s a straight shooter and a straight talker. And that’s why Montana will support John McCain—because Montanans know that under John McCain’s watch, we won’t lose the very constitutional rights that make our country free.

Erik Iverson is chairman of the Montana Republican Party.

[bd476]

What's bad for Montana will be horrible for the entire country.

It is reassuring that at least one man in Montana foresees
the disaster in electing a leftist, Socialist liberal to the White House.

Montana is alive and well and after looking at the chart below,
it looks like Montana FReepers are doing their part in
helping keep conservative discussion ongoing, here on
Free Republic, the Internet's Premiere Conservative site.

Please donate whatever you can to help keep Free Republic running.

Click the chart below.

[SunkenCiv]

pingworthy?

[The_Pickle]

Did you just say the B.O. is wrong with regards to his stance on the 2nd Amendment??

You Racist!!!

</sarcasm>

[neverdem]

pingworthy?

I believe in trusting my gut. Go for it. McRino will need constant spanking if he's elected. Either of the Marxists, Obama or Clinton, is just plain dumb. This world is getting too complicated to invoke the analogy of letting Carter win in 1976 so the heir of Reagan will win the White House in 4 years.

[JaneNC]

Not wrong just for Montana...for the whole country.

[bd476]

The_Pickle wrote: "Did you just say the B.O. is wrong with regards to his stance on the 2nd Amendment??

You Racist!!!

< /sarcasm >"

Heh. Protecting the Second Amendment won't be about race. Here's an interesting article I just found:

Washington Business Journal

Friday, January 18, 2002

Black man with a gun

Security consultant Kenn Blanchard takes aim at a stereotype

Washington Business Journal - by Steve Davolt Small Business Editor

Kenn Blanchard draws his sermons from two works of scripture: the Holy Bible and the Second Amendment.

Most Sundays, Blanchard, a licensed Baptist minister, can be found helping out with services at the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Washington. The rest of the week he works as a security consultant, and as such, is a staunch advocate of gun rights.

Blanchard is founder of Blanchard Impresario Group, which advises individuals, groups and businesses on "every element of physical security," including negotiation, avoidance tactics, risk assessment, and armed and unarmed self-defense.

Like a lot of security pros, Blanchard has seen a sharp rise in the demand for his services in the precarious post-Sept. 11 world. Unlike most of them, he's devised some ingenious ways of marketing himself, especially to a population often neglected, if not outright avoided, by the pro-gun crowd: African-Americans.

Blasting a stereotype

First, there's his book, "Black Man With a Gun: A Responsible Gun Ownership Manual for African Americans," from which he also takes the name of his Web site ( http://www.blackmanwithagun.net).

The site, which welcomes visitors with a photo of Blanchard brandishing a submachine gun, warns: "If you had any apprehension about this site ... it is just proof of the conditioning we have all been subject to about guns. A black man with a gun is no different than any other ethnicity with one."

He got the idea for the provocative marketing message while attending gun rights advocacy events and holding firearms and self-defense workshops around he country.

"Often I was the only black guy in the room," he recalls. He soon found he had struck a nerve among a sizable constituency of blacks interested in keeping and bearing arms legally and responsibly.

"I hoped the name would help change the stereotype and the mentality," he says.

Blanchard has reached out to African-American gun owners in other ways. Three years ago he established the 10th Cavalry Gun Club for African Americans, named for the renowned Buffalo Soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War. He continues to edit a monthly electronic newsletter for its members.

Political doors

Blanchard's high profile among African-American gun enthusiasts made him appealing to the pro-gun mainstream. He was sought as a speaker by groups such as the Maryland Libertarian Party and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He helped lobby for the passage of a law allowing Virginians, properly licensed, to carry concealed weapons, and is working on the same in Maryland.

Blanchard discovered that opening these political doors was good for business. He was hired to perform more risk assessments and put on more courses and workshops than ever; he gradually elevated his speaking fees.

"Kenn's one of those rare individuals who can both do and teach," says Kevin Watson, a spokesman at the Falls Church-based Law Enforcement Alliance of America, where Blanchard sits on the board of directors. "He has a knack for both handling small arms and training and instructing in their use."

Watson also ventures that Blanchard's experience in the pulpit has helped burnish the oratorical skills that have upped his currency as speaker and lecturer.

Blanchard's involvement with security and self-defense started when, fresh out of Northwestern High School in Adelphi, Md., he spent five years in the Marine Corps. He began as a heavy equipment operator but soon discovered he had a natural talent for handling small arms. That led to security details with U.S. embassies in London and Brasilia.

Once out of the service, he taught firearms instruction for a year at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glen Coe, Ga., where FBI, CIA and other federal agents go to hone their combat skills. He spent a decade as a federal police officer providing security to the CIA before entering the private sector.

Boom business

As everyone knows, it's a good time to be in the security business, with demand rising sharply for consultants following the terrorist attacks in September.

Andy Stanford, founder of Options for Personal Safety, a security firm with headquarters in Sebring, Fla., and offices throughout the country, says his company is fielding calls like never before.

"Sept. 11 was a wake-up call, not just regarding terrorist threats, but in terms of general awareness of personal security," Stanford says.

Since September, inquiries for Blanchard's services have risen to about 30 a month. "You used to say `counterterrorism' and people laughed," he recalls.

Whereas many security consultants market themselves only to corporate and institutional clientele, Blanchard has designed his business to be affordable for individuals and small business owners...

End of excerpt. Continues at Washington Biz Journals.com:

Black man with a gun.

[buffyt]

The leader of Hamas endorced Obama this week!

[buffyt]

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
FOX: Hamas Leader Endorses Obama
Posted by: Matt Lewis at 7:36 PM
From Fox:

During an interview on WABC radio Sunday, top Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said the terrorist group supports Obama’s foreign policy vision.
“We don’t mind–actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance,” Yousef said in response to a question about the group’s willingness to meet with either of the Democratic presidential candidates.

Here’s a transcript of Carl Cameron’s interview with the Hamas leader:

CARL CAMERON: politically, the obama campaign is keenly aware of how important it is for him to not appear soft or weak on terrorism or extremism. that’s why the strong words of support a few days ago from the hamas political advisor on wabc radio in new york could be potentially damaging. here is a little bit of what he had to say.

AHMED YOUSEF: we like mr. obama. we hope that he will win the election, and i do believe he is like john kennedy, a great man with a great principle.”” no candidate is ultimately held responsible for who backs them up or supports them, but when it comes from hamas, that is probably one of the last thing that obama wants or needs right now.

[buffyt]

Obama camp ‘flattered’ by Hamas compliment
Terror group compared senator to JFK in its endorsement of him for president

---

Posted: April 17, 2008
10:39 am Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef

Barack Obama’s campaign said yesterday it is “flattered” that Hamas’ endorsement of the Illinois senator compared him to John F. Kennedy, though it objects to any diplomatic contact with the terrorist group.

“I like John Kennedy, too,” said chief Obama strategist David Axelrod. “That’s about the only thing we have in common with this gentleman from Hamas. We all agree that John Kennedy was a great president, and it’s flattering when anybody says that Barack Obama would follow in his footsteps.”

Axelrod was reacting to comments earlier this week from Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas’ top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, who said Hamas “hopes” Obama will win the presidential elections and “change” America’s foreign policy.

“I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse. ... I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance,” Yousuf said during an exclusive interview with WND and WABC-New York radio’s John Batchelor.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=61852