JonInNY

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My Disclaimer: I am not passing judgment, but just presenting the article.
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CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Fact Check: Does Obama want to ban guns and rifles? - Blogs from CNN.com

The Statement

In an ad titled "Hunter," aired Monday, September 22, the National Rifle Association asserts that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has voted to ban common ammunition and supports banning shotguns and rifles used by hunters. "Now I learn that Barack Obama supports a huge new tax on my guns and ammo," the narrator of the ad says. "If you can believe it, he also supports a ban on the shotguns and rifles most of us use for hunting."

The Facts
On his campaign Web site, Obama says he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and "will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport and use guns." As CNN reported, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, told supporters at a Virginia rally on Saturday, September 20, "I guarantee you, Barack Obama ain't taking my shotguns. So don't buy that malarkey. They're going to start peddling that to you. I've got two and if he tries to fool with my Beretta, he's got a problem."

Obama supports reinstating former President Bill Clinton's ban on assault rifles, closing what he calls a loophole that lets people buy handguns at gun shows without the same rigorous background checks as at stores and what his Web site calls "commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them." He has publicly supported the right of local governments to have handgun bans and, as a state senator, cosponsored a failed bill that would have limited handgun sales to one per month.

To support its claims, the NRA ad prints three references at the bottom of the screen — a 2005 Senate vote, a 2004 Senate debate with Republican opponent Alan Keyes and a 1999 article in the Chicago Defender. The vote, which the ad calls an effort "to ban virtually all deer-hunting ammunition," was an unsuccessful effort to expand the legal definition of armor-piercing ammunition to include pistol and rifle rounds that the U.S. attorney general deemed more likely to penetrate body armor than a normal round. In a Senate speech, the amendment's sponsor, Sen. Edward Kennedy, said it was not aimed at ammunition used for hunting. In addition, the vote itself wouldn't have singled out any ammunition — instead leaving the decision on what, if anything, to ban up to the attorney general.

The claim Obama would push a "ban on shotguns and rifles most of us use for hunting" is pegged to this quote from the 2004 debate: "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."

The 1999 article in the Chicago Defender paraphrases a speech by Obama — then a state senator — in which it says he promoted a plan to "increase the federal taxes by 500 percent on the sale of firearm, ammunition [sic] — weapons he says are most commonly used in firearm deaths." Obama's exact words aren't documented. But, as a state senator, Obama would have had no control over federal taxes and, as a U.S. senator, he has neither introduced nor suggested such a plan.

The Verdict: Misleading. While Obama has supported some measures to limit gun rights, he has backed nothing on the scale suggested in the ad.

__________________

• "The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected."
  -- Thomas Paine

____________________________

• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who will guard the guards?)
  -- Juvenal

OPFOR

Cough, cough...bull....cough.

__________________
"It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way."

Pete Zaria

The good news is, with our current Supreme Court, (assuming he wins) Obama won't be passing anything too far left-wing.
More good news, whoever wins will have so much on their plate for awhile (with the economy crisis, the middle east, etc...) that gun control will be a ways down the list of priorities. I doubt we'll see any real change there in the next 2-3 years at least.
The bad news is, if he wins, he'll probably get to nominate 1, if not 2, new SCOTUS justices, which could tip the balance.

Even if it did happen, I assume such a "ban" would not be retroactive - otherwise they'd have to go door to door collecting guns. I can't see that happening in the US anytime soon, at least, not anywhere besides DC and California. So it'd just be a ban on sales of new weapons that fall within the description of the ban.
Buy what you want now, and get a reloading press. Problem solved

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

__________________
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead

"Booger Hook Off the Bang Switch" - unknown

OPFOR

Problem far from solved, actually... I want to be able to buy guns next month, next year, and next decade. I want the same rights to be passed to my children, and their children. Rights lost like this are very rarely regained...

__________________
"It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way."

kimberland

Howabout fixing that:

While Obama has supported ALL measures to limit gun rights,

Pete Zaria

I completely agree, however, I think we may see a 4-to-8 year period of liberal government here.
The sad truth of the matter is, most Americans think that the Bush administration has buggered things up badly, and they're sick of the GOP right now, regardless of how much of a "maverick" or "rebel" John McCain may or may not be. Although the polls are close, the polls can't reach young voters (who don't use land-lines and thus can't be polled by traditional means) and are probably off by several points in McCain's favor because of that. Also, the Dem's beat the Republicans almost 3 to 1 in voter turnout at the primaries in most states. It's going to be a bad year for the GOP.

So my point is, if we can't buy the guns we want for a few years (just like Clinton's AWB of the 90s), it won't be the end of the American gun culture. Unless things go really, really wrong.

Just my two cents.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

__________________
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead

"Booger Hook Off the Bang Switch" - unknown

kimberland

From
FOXNews.com - Obama and Guns: Two Different Views - Opinion

OBAMA: “I don’t believe that people should be able to own guns.”

http://www.gunbanobama.com is another good link for more of his anti-civil rights stance.

lance22

Former board of Directors on the Joyce Foundation. 'Nuff said.

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Clinging to religion and guns.

sass20485

Well, just in case the wrong crowd get in power, I've just bought my AR, mags and plan a few more things to stock up on.

JonInNY

Not to rock the boat, but it appears that's not really a documented quote from the candidate. It comes from John Lott, who "recalls" hearing him say that. With no other cooberation, it's hearsay.

But that said, it's probably true, given his record.

__________________

• "The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected."
  -- Thomas Paine

____________________________

• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who will guard the guards?)
  -- Juvenal