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Obama's Latest on Gun Control

As I've written before, Barack Obama tends to be all over the place on gun rights.

Via Instapundit and Say Uncle, I see he has given a new interview to the Chicago Sun Times on his position.

In it, Obama argues for federal legislation putting more cops on the street (a position shared by Hillary who has issued a detailed plan on the topic) and for more gun control laws.

Here's what he had to say: [More...]

On more cops:

I've already said as president I want to restore [federal] COPS funding, which will put police on the streets. Additional police improves public safety. New York has seen a huge drop in crime over the last decade, more than even other cities, and part of it is they've got more cops than anybody else per capita. We've got to help local communities put more police on the streets. We want to make sure we provide state and local government with the targeting information they need, the technology they need to make sure police are going to the places most at risk for gun violence.

On gun control laws:

We've got to tighten up our gun laws. I've said before we should have a much tougher background check system, one that's much more effective and make sure there aren't loopholes out there like the gun show loophole. [Or] The Tiahart Amendment [requiring destruction of gun-purchase records.] Here's an example of something common-sense: The ATF [federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] should be able to share info with local communities about where guns are coming from, tracing guns that are used in criminal activity. It's been blocked consistently in Congress. As president, I'm gong to make sure we know if guns are being sold by unscrupulous gun dealers not abiding by existing laws. We should know about that.

Obama also advocates for better parenting as a means of reducing gun violence.

When asked to reconcile his view that the Second Amendment conveys an individual right to bear arms with his votes as an Illinois Senator, he said:

S-T: As a state legislator, you voted against a bill which would let people with orders of protection [against others] carry guns and another that would have barred municipalities from punishing people who kept guns in their homes. Why?

B.O.: I felt that [the first one] was a precedent for conceal-and-carry laws. There has not been any evidence that allowing people to carry a concealed weapon is going to make anybody safer. [The second one] is relevant to the D.C. handgun issue. I wanted to preserve the right of local communities to enforce local ordinances and this would have overturned municipalities being able to enforce their own ordinances. We can argue about whether the ordinances work or not. But I wanted to make sure that local communities were recognized as having a right to regulate firearms.

So where does he stand on the D.C. handgun ban? He's still not saying.

S-T: But you don't want to take a stand on the D.C. gun-ban law?

B.O.: I don't like taking a stand on pending cases.

While Obama insists he has never supported a blanket ban on handguns, his campaign officials have said that Obama would probably find the ban constitutional. (Chicago Tribune, Nov. 20, 2007):

But the campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said that he "...believes that we can recognize and respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and the right of local communities to enact common sense laws to combat violence and save lives. Obama believes the D.C. handgun law is constitutional."

And his surrogate Gov. Bob Casey said the same thing.

Bob Casey: He would probably be a supporter, as he has been in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois legislature, for various restrictions on gun ownership. I happen to disagree with him on that, we have our disagreements.

More from the Wall St. Journal:

In 1999, Mr. Obama urged enactment of a federal law prohibiting the operation of any gun store within five miles of a school or park. This would eliminate gun stores from almost the entire inhabited portion of the United States.

As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he "never saw or approved the questionnaire," and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.

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  • Display: Sort:
    That'll be the closest (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Edgar08 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:38:46 PM EST
    He ever gets to complimenting a policy implemented by the Clinton Administration.


    If I want to know where Obama stands... (5.00 / 3) (#3)
    by madamab on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:39:12 PM EST
    I simply have to look at HRC's website.

    Why doesn't he just get (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by janarchy on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:32:11 PM EST
    "me too! me too!" tattooed on his forehead and just point to it whenever someone asks him a policy question.

    Parent
    You Are Soooooo Right On The Money!! (none / 0) (#32)
    by PssttCmere08 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:32:46 PM EST
    LOL! (none / 0) (#5)
    by bjorn on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:41:20 PM EST
    I love it!

    Parent
    Right, what she said! LOL (none / 0) (#10)
    by themomcat on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:50:52 PM EST
    Thesaurus (none / 0) (#18)
    by Josmt on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:10:27 PM EST
    Got it love them... that's how I basically see Obama's plan.  

    Parent
    What Obama really believes (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by myiq2xu on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:40:03 PM EST
    depends on who he is talking to.

    Wasn't COPS (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by FlaDemFem on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:46:36 PM EST
    one of Bill Clinton's programs? Or am I misremembering that? So Bill Clinton was just like the Bushes, except for the policies that did some good which Obama is now going to co-opt? He not only steals credit for legislation, he steals the policy program of his rival's husband? What a loser!!!!

    You are correct (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by Kathy on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:05:36 PM EST
    a Clinton plan, and one HRC has been saying for a while now that she would refund.  And now, as others have noted, Obama throws in another "me, too!"

    Gee, considering how base and monstrous Obama Co thinks Clinton is, they sure don't mind taking her positions to use as their own.

    And, speaking for myself, Obama's new campaign photo does nothing to disabuse this fact.

    Parent

    LOL (none / 0) (#36)
    by misspeach2008 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:46:02 PM EST
    Is the kitty's name Xerox?

    Parent
    another Obama lie (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by Josey on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:03:19 PM EST
    >>> But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.

    Obama said it wasn't his handwriting on that 1996 survey, but he failed to mention the corrections in the margin ARE his.
    If this were Hillary - it would be all over the media and 100K diaries on pro-Obama blogs.

    what she said... snark (n/t) (none / 0) (#1)
    by DandyTIger on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:35:14 PM EST


    Hmm (none / 0) (#7)
    by Steve M on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:41:42 PM EST
    What is the DC gun law exactly?  A complete ban?

    District of Columbia v. Heller (none / 0) (#15)
    by CMike on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:04:23 PM EST
    From Wikipedia:
    ********
    In 2003, six residents of Washington, D.C. (Shelly Parker, Tom Palmer, Gillian St. Lawrence, Tracey Ambeau, George Lyon and Dick Heller) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975, a local law enacted pursuant to District of Columbia home rule.

    This law restricts residents from owning handguns, excluding those grandfathered in by registration prior to 1975 and those possessed by active and retired law enforcement officers. The law also requires that all firearms including rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock."[3] The District Court dismissed the lawsuit.
    **********

    Parent

    Hmm (none / 0) (#17)
    by Steve M on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:08:22 PM EST
    Okay, so not a complete ban, but a complete handgun ban.  That strikes me as a bit more than just "reasonable regulation."

    I'm on board with the concept that rural Texas is a lot different from New York City and that there ought to be room for the two to have different gun laws, but there has to be some kind of limit.  I mean, if you're going to let cities and states ban guns because of local concerns, you might as well let them ban abortion or any other constitutional right.

    Parent

    Well, it also prohibited keeping long guns (none / 0) (#20)
    by scribe on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:53:07 PM EST
    which were assembled, among other things.

    Didn't keep the murder rate down, IIRC.

    Parent

    Bob Casey Said Obama Was Voting For It... (none / 0) (#34)
    by PssttCmere08 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:37:27 PM EST
    I believe.  Kinda threw his buddy, Obama, under the bus in PA.

    Parent
    What I don't understand (none / 0) (#22)
    by angie on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:06:46 PM EST
    was his lame answer on the DC gun case -- he doesn't want to comment on a pending case? WTF? Does he think he is a justice on the USSC now? Those are the only 9 people in the world who should not "comment on a pending case." What a maroon.

    Parent
    taking a position against the second amendment (none / 0) (#8)
    by athyrio on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:43:19 PM EST
    is an automatic loser in this country..... Particularly in states that have hunters IMO...

    Doesn't Really Matter What He Says (none / 0) (#11)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:56:39 PM EST
    The NRA and other gun associations will make sure that gun owners and hunters receive every word he has ever written or said about restricting gun ownership in any way. The questionnaire stating he would ban hand guns has been circulating around those venues for a while and they already have their campaign mapped out for the GE if Obama is the nominee.

    The NRA's been push-polling and (none / 0) (#19)
    by scribe on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:52:01 PM EST
    propagandizing their membership (and pretty much anyone who's bought a hunting license) about Obama for months now.

    And it ain't pretty, because it ties in racial stereotypes:  "Do you think there should be a quota of how many guns you should be able to buy?"

    I've never heard a limit on the number of guns one can purchase described as a "quota" before it was done in connection with a poll about a black man.

    Parent

    The NRA's Tactics Have Never Been Pretty (none / 0) (#23)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:18:00 PM EST
    They use whatever tactics that they think will work. Unfortunately, they are normally effective. I agree that the use of the word quota is code.

    I, personally, would like much stricter gun controls (city girl). Don't see the need for people to have guns for any reason other than hunting or sport but that is not the real world of politics now. The Dems will not be able to win in the western states as long as they pursue restrictions on guns unless there is a major shift in demographics. In fact, that is the reason that I could never buy into Obama winning CO.

    Parent

    Yep. He'll lose most of the rural states (none / 0) (#26)
    by Eleanor A on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:33:25 PM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    What is up with the fixation on CO and guns? (none / 0) (#27)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:48:21 PM EST
    Did you have a bad experience here or something?  Texas and Florida have much, much more liberal gun laws.  You can potentially get shot there for looking at someone the wrong way.  

    Sure, we like the outdoors and some of us hunt and there are those who have firearms for personal protection, but everyone isn't walking down the street with a six-shooter.  

    Also, we've had more than our share of shootings, so people here are pretty open to keeping weapons out the hand of people that shouldn't have them.

    Gun control isn't going to win or lose the state for the Democratic nominee.

    Parent

    I've Heard Contrary Opinions From Other (none / 0) (#31)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:22:23 PM EST
    people who live in CO. Now they may be right or you may be right. I don't know. I guess we will find out in November.

    Parent
    Chicago, Obama Country Is Now The Wild West (none / 0) (#33)
    by PssttCmere08 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:34:53 PM EST
    It is getting uglier there day by day.

    Parent
    So (none / 0) (#28)
    by Wile ECoyote on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:11:09 PM EST
    people should not be allowed to have guns to protect themselves?  

    Parent
    I Don't Believe That Guns Necessarily Equate To (none / 0) (#30)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:18:55 PM EST
    protection. That is my opinion. I know other people disagree with me. That is their right.

    Parent
    Happiness Is A Warm Gun (none / 0) (#12)
    by txpolitico67 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 04:59:17 PM EST
    Guess Barack will actually have to do some soul searching on the policy of gun control.  WHY is this even an election year issue though?

    No one is going to be able to beat the gun lobby and the NRA.  Look at Virginia Tech, Columbine...the list goes on and on. Guns are to America what masochism was to the Marquis de Sade.

    now that (none / 0) (#13)
    by Turkana on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:00:20 PM EST
    pennsylvania is out of the way?

    Obama dodges another one... (none / 0) (#21)
    by joc on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 05:57:19 PM EST
    I don't like taking a stand on pending cases.

    Hmmm... Not the answer he gave during the debate. One wonders why he didn't just say that then, rather than his 'I don't know the facts of the case' dodge.

    Clinging to their Guns (none / 0) (#24)
    by daryl herbert on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 06:26:55 PM EST
    Sen. Obama was wrong about gun owners being "bitter."  But try taking them away, and you'll see bitter.  "From my cold, dead hands," indeed.

    Repealing the Tiahart Amendment would result in de facto nation-wide gun registration on all new sales.  Gun owners are not going to accept that.

    Sen. Obama thinks nothing is wrong with the D.C. gun ban.  That means he's basically in favor of allowing states and municipalities to completely disarm their residents.  He's probably even in favor of it.  Again, gun owners are not going to accept that.

    We don't need some out-of-touch liberal elitist coming into the White House wanting to take our guns away.  No thanks.  I don't want to trade a president who wiretaps terror suspects without a warrant for a president who wants to track all gun ownership in the U.S.

    This issue is make or break when it comes to electability.  If a politician hasn't come down on the right side consistently, they can't be trusted.  Kind of like religion.  It's a good thing none of the candidates has said anything stupid about religion yet . . .

    Many Say Sen. Clinton and Barry's Platform Is (none / 0) (#29)
    by PssttCmere08 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:18:30 PM EST
    practically the same.  That could be because he always comes out with his statements after Sen. Clinton and they always seem to parrot hers.  Has this guy ever had an original idea?  Even hope and change, yes we can, are not original.

    I've said this before (none / 0) (#35)
    by facta non verba on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 07:39:16 PM EST
    Now:
    We've got to tighten up our gun laws. I've said before we should have a much tougher background check system, one that's much more effective and make sure there aren't loopholes out there like the gun show loophole

    Obama on February 2 in Boise:

    Appealing to the Idaho crowd, Obama threw in one extra line for his western audience, addressing gun rights, "There are people who say he doesn't believe in the Second Amendment," Obama told the crowd, "We got a lot hunters in the state of Illinois and I have no intention of taking away folks' guns."

    If he were truly honest, he would have mention the former when he spoke with the latter. See the problem I have with the very junior Senator from Illinois? He tells people very different things.

    Huh? (none / 0) (#37)
    by DanR3 on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 08:46:09 PM EST
    If you're linking to Instapundit and SayUncle, two of East Tennessee's right wingnuttiest bloggers, then you have no business calling yourselves talk "left" any longer.

    Y'all have dove off the deep end.

    Here's the FACTS about gun control... (none / 0) (#38)
    by aCE on Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 12:14:11 PM EST
    About 500 to 2000 children die from guns each year. About 10,000 children die from drowning in swimming pools each year. Are they registered?
    The deaths caused by drunk driving, teen driving, and drug use are in the hundres of thousands. If anything ban alcohol, cigarettes, and don't let teens have their license till they're 21. There are HUNDREDS of cases that prove that keeping a gun for protection makes a difference. Use the other countries for example. Australia homicide rate went up 44% within three months of their gun ban. Britain's went up 40% after their gun ban. The so-called "assault weapons ban" is just a ban on customized sporting weapons. That is just the gov'ts way of limiting our way of defending ourselves. banning high-cap mags is like limiting the amount of gas a car can hold. It just causes us to do a mag change more often. The chance of dying in Iraq in a year is 60%. The chance of dying in a year in DC is 80%. Criminals are called that because thats what they are. They disobey laws. What makes you think their going to obey anymore? If you ban guns, only criminals have them. And when it comes to straw purchases, Sarah Brady "straw purchased" a handgun for her son. Tell me what you think. unitoperator7@yahoo.com