Posted on 01/31/2009 8:03:10 AM PST by marktwain
Politically savvy gun owners have long distrusted President Barack Obama, and for perfectly fair reasonseven (or perhaps especially) after he went out of his way to tell them that lawful gun owners have nothing to fear from his administration.
Perhaps, Obama seemed to be gently suggesting, they could cool it with the spike in gun purchases since he won the election. December showed a 24 percent rise in FBI instant background checks for gun purchases from the previous December, and there was a 49 percent such hike the week of his election.
Obamas famous gaffe about bitter people who cling to guns merely brought this existing tension to wide public attention. Despite his insistence that he respects the doctrine settled by the Supreme Court in Junes Heller decisionthat the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear armsObama has a far narrower vision of what that means than, say, your average National Rifle Association (NRA) member.
During his political career, Obama has supported Chicagos handgun ban (as well as D.C.s ban, overturned in Heller, a decision he later claimed to agree with) and voted for, or expressed public support for, such gun restrictions as banning concealed public carrying of weapons and barring gun sales within five miles of schools or parks.
Furthermore, a statement on Obama's gun intentions that had disappeared from his campaign site has now reappeared on the White House website. These details in particular raised hackles in the gun rights community:
Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade . They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.
And his attorney general designate Eric Holder is a straight-up foe of gun rights. He was a principal in the Clinton administrations perceived attacks on gun owners rights; hes for registration and licensing, mandatory waiting periods, and gun purchase limits. Holder also signed on to an amicus brief on D.C.s side in Heller, and clearly does not agree with the cases Second Amendment-affirming decision. Hes been a magnet of discontent for the gun rights community, though in a contentious move, the NRA has chosen not to openly testify against him or count votes for him against congressmen or senators in their NRA scorecards.
Moreover, as certain alarmed folks in the gun rights community will note, theres plenty that Holder will be able to do as the head of the Department of Justice, including the harassment of gun dealers by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. There are also fears that Obama may issue executive orders restricting the importation of certain kinds of weapons or ammunition.
I dont doubt that Obama and Holder have little respect for gun rights. Obamas pandering during the campaign was almost certainly insincere. But what is politically important is not whether he meant it; its that he thought he had to do it in the first place. He even had to run ads in such potential swing states as Ohio and Pennsylvania aimed at countering NRA ads that tagged him as an enemy of gun owners.
That indicates what Obamaand his chief of staff Rahm Emanuelhas at the front of his mind: the Democratic Partys institutional memory of its own personal gun-related tragedies of 1994 and 2000 (and maybe even 2004). Gun control fever was running high in the early 1990s, with the Brady Bill and the original assault weapon ban passing in 93 and 94.
Then came the Republican takeover of both houses of Congress in 1994, blamed by no less savvy a politico than then-President Bill Clinton on the Democrats rousing of the gun rights movement. Al Gores 2000 losses in such states as Tennessee and West Virginia, and thus the White House, are also widely attributed to the wrath of the NRA and its allies.
Irwin Nowick, a hyper-detailed watcher and chronicler of gun issues on the California and national level, had a cogent argument for why even some of the things Obama explicitly says he wants on the gun control front are apt to go nowhere:
Federally, Obama and .Emanuel [do] not want to cause problems for Labor or swing voters which include persons who own guns. Emanuel remembers Clinton and he understands how tenuous Democratic control of the House in fact is . In addition, what people do not understand is that the type of Democrats who controlled the House during the first two years of the Clinton regime is not there any more. They were wiped out in 1994 and by the movement of House seats from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West. Those seats that did exist in the Rust Belt were sliced and diced in redistricting in 2001. Indeed, in this cycleas in 2006you had the growth of NRA Democrats.
People can forget about a new assault weapon banthat one is not getting any tractionLabor is opposed and Rahm Emanuel is not putting his boss or a Democratic majority at risk.... Many of those Republicans are gone and because of the movement of seats because of the 2000 census and resulting redistricting, many of the Democratic seats where the members voted for it are gone as well.
So far, there is no sign of incipient serious gun action on the Hill, or out of the White House. Two new bills that have generated much gun community chatter are sitting mostly sponsorless for now in the Judiciary Committee. Second Amendment enthusiasts are excited about Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearnss National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 (H.R. 197) (co-sponsored by Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher), which would create cross-state reciprocity for states that issue concealed carry permits, allowing a gun owner who has one in his home state to essentially use it in other states. (Stearns has authored essentially similar bills in the past, which got nowhere.)
And they are alarmed by Illinois Democrat Rep. Bobby Rushs bill, a Firearms Licensing and Record of Sale Act, which would pretty much do what the title implies. It too is currently sitting in committee, with zero co-sponsors. Radical pro- or anti-gun action is just not much on Congress mind right now.
Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation is still quite wary of Obama and nervous about what the next four years will mean for gun rights, though he granted in an interview this week that we dont see any legislation on the immediate horizon whatsoever; the few bills introduced, I dont believe will go anywhere. [Rushs bill] is asking too much; its never gonna happen.
Still, Gottlieb is concerned about how a Holder-run DOJ might behave in any future lawsuit intended to extend gun rights in which the federal government is a party. He's also worried about how Holders BATFE could use existing laws to stymie gun and ammunition dealers. And he fears that any effective new gun control will come without warning from Congress. Something bad could appear and head to hearings quickly and not be telegraphed months in advance, seriously harming the gun rights communitys ability to man up and stop it.
But as far as actual action to restrict gun rights on the federal level, not much is imminent or moving. Congress and the new president are very, very busy spending the U.S. further into hyperinflation or bankruptcy and figuring out exit strategies (or not) from Bush-era foreign policy entanglements. While Justice Department's focus on enforcing existing gun laws may well increase, we're unlikely to see any significant new federal efforts that infringe on the Heller-certified constitutional right to own common weapons for self-defense in the home.
The gun rights community, in other words, is most likely wrong about the extent to which the Obama administration will try to restrict gun rights. (Not that, even in a post-Heller age, they dont have reason to be worried; short of D.C.-style total gun bans, lower courts so far seem sure that any other gun regulations go under the ruling.) The political irony is that being mistaken about the magnitude of the threat can guarantee they achieve their goalsbeing wrong, especially convincing the gun rights rank and file to grossly overestimate the Obama threat, will help ensure that the threat never becomes realeven if it never would have.
In the face of an administration that undoubtedly only respects gun rights to the extent that its supporters have the political power to harm it, gun rights forces do need to keep their powder dry; perhaps even excessively stocked. Paranoids may not always have real and effective enemies, but in politics, as in life, paranoia can keep you safe.
I think that is litteraly true, but something like 95 percent of Democrats voted for the "Assault Weapon" ban and 95 pecent of Republicans voted against it.
I don't trust Nowick's spin on gun issues.
“Perhaps, Obama seemed to be gently suggesting, they could cool it with the spike in gun purchases since he won the election. “
Not effing likely to see this trend slowdown anytime soon.
By definition, nobody who disrespects the Second Amendment or any other part of the Constitution *IS* President.
I don’t trust ANYONE on gun issues, Democrat OR Republican, ESPECIALLY MULLAH HUSSEIN!!
**Not effing likely to see this trend slowdown anytime soon.**
Many Gun shops, have pictures of Mullah HUssein on their wall.. captioned “SALESMAN of the MONTH”
No kiddin'. Tried to buy a Glock lately?
PING
Rather simple and straight forward.
The "ruling class" ignores it at their own peril.
It was a statement of direction to fellow Marxists in SF.It was not a gaffe.
Better "Wrong" and fully armed than "Right" and "hanging in the breeze."
Keep right on buying, stocking up, storing, packing away. etc. If if turns out that you did not desperately need it down the road then you will have an amply supply of "sporting" fun for many years.
But to "trust" a shifty character like Øbama Hussein The Magnificent to make a complete u-turn from decades of political position because he "said so" is insane.
With any luck... SALESMAN of the YEAR
ping
Soon to be Al Haj Mullah Hussein..
The way that the corrupt Federal government works, look for draconian gun restrictions to be added to bills such as the “stimulus” bill in secret late-night House-Senate conferences without any public discussion whatsoever...
I agree with you on that. The entire modern American political class has nothing but contempt for the Constitution. They seek unbridled, raw power and the Constitution stands in their way. They are not to be trusted. One of the reasons we're in the mess we're in presently is because we've trusted them in the past.
We can trust Obama to keep his word on the gun control issue about as much as he is keeping his word on no tax increase for those with incomes under $250K and immediate stimulus bill jobs for construction of infrastructure.
NRA: "On the Second Amendment, Dont Believe Obama"
The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for sportsmen or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.
But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Dont listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.
FACT: Barack Obama opposes four of the five Supreme Court justices who affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms. He voted against the confirmation of Alito and Roberts and he has stated he would not have appointed Thomas or Scalia.
FACT: Barack Obama voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate assault weapons, but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen.
FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.
FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban.
FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition.
FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.
FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense.
FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration.
FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.
FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws.
FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and research.
FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.
FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them.
FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military.
FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines.
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping.
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods.
FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers.
FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions.
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns.
FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.
FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21.
What does he mean by saying that the attacks by the Clinton admin on our gun rights was "PERCEIVED".
They were very REAL attacks, idiot.
Whether or not the supreme LIAR, Hussein, and his admin, will attack our 2A rights, is not the only worry.
The paybacks for the unions and other left-wing supporters of Hussein during the election are already occurring, so to think that payback to the Brady Bunch and their anti-gun ilk will not occur is pure FOLLY.
The insane (liberal dems and RINOs) are running the asylum, and they have already got anti-gun legislation on the front burner.
ANYONE who thinks Hussein doesn't have the time or the will to sign all or some of these anti-gun bills when they reach his desk is a MAJOR LEAGUE NAIVE FOOL.
If you believe in our 2nd Amendment rights, and are a friend of freedom and liberty, then get off your ass and start defending and protecting against attacks on these freedoms, liberties, and rights. Join more than one if you can, and donate what you can (they'll need all the dollars they can get to fight the onslaught).
We can beat tyranny if we get our sh*t together and fight the bastards (our "domestic enemies") at every turn.
“...the Clinton administration’s perceived assault on gun owners rights...” This joker lost me right there and made his bias quite clear. There was nothing “perceived” about the gun grabbers in slick Willie’s house. Our rights were in serious jeopardy and still are.
And what's all this nonsense about people wanting to keep and arm bears?
Why would they want to do that? That just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
I can understand why the president would want to control that kind of behavior.
What?
What?
Oh! I see.
Nevermind
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