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Where the Candidates Stand
Included in the USA Today story on Gun Rights was a concise and worthwhile summation of the position on the issue of the top candidates in the presidential race. Both Hillary and Obama are backpeddling furiously from their pro-gun control records as senators for their respective states, offering up support for the Second Amendment that is at odds with their history of advocacy for tighter gun control. But even that support sounds rather unconvincing.
Consider that while pushing for a renewal of the assault-weapons ban (AWB) signed into law by her husband, Hillary stated: “I believe in the Second Amendment. People have a right to bear arms. But I also believe we can common-sensically approach this.” In other words, the “right” is so conditional that it can be revoked for something as frivolous as how a gun looks. Some “right.”
Obama, who also pushed to make the AWB permanent, was quoted as saying: "We essentially have two realities when it comes to guns in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. … And it is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. And then you've got the reality of public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago."
His words demonstrate a gross misunderstanding about the Second Amendment, which is all too typical. It ain’t about hunting. It ain’t about plinking. It is all about being able to defend yourself, whether in your home from an intruder or from a tyrannical government.
McCain, in contrast, has a strong pro-gun voting record (see his official campaign statement here) and even joined a congressional “friend of the court” brief in the pending Supreme Court case on the D.C. gun ban that strongly endorses an individual right to own guns.
—John Snow
Democrats are going to vote democratic and Republicans have already chosen McCain.
The Supreme Court decision will have a huge impact on gun owners rights in this country.
That's the real story right now.
We should know it 2 weeks.
Posted by: jstreet | February 28, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Boy, if they use common sense when they decide, we're OK, but I keep thinking back to the New London, eminent domain decision.
YooperJack
Posted by: YooperJack | February 29, 2008 at 06:22 PM
I beleive thats what our forefathers had in mind when they crafted the second amendment to theConstitution of the United States they knew what a rouge government could do We the people are the ones our leaders work for usnot the other way around What part of "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED"do they not understand.
Posted by: Charles W. Anderson | March 01, 2008 at 01:32 PM