Gun shop
The Associated Press

A Pennsylvania gun shop owner scrutinizes the candidates' positions.

Featured Topic | Posted 32 weeks 5 days ago

'Bitter' fallout: Where do the candidates stand on guns?

The battle over the word "bitter" between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has sparked a new look at the candidates and their stance on the Second Amendment. At a closed-door fundraiser just over a week ago, the Illinois senator referred to some small-town Pennsylvanians as "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion."

But those words -- specifically on people who "cling to guns" -- have allowed a Second Amendment debate to surface during the 2008 election. In terms of policy, there's not much to separate Clinton and Obama on the issue of guns. Both would restrict gun purchases to one a month -- and both want to renew the assault weapons ban. How important is the Second Amendment in the 2008 election?

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Ben likes: Obama's Second Amendment dance

Robert Novak/Washington Post

In response to my inquiry about his specific position, Obama's campaign e-mailed me a one-paragraph answer: Obama believes that while the "Second Amendment creates an individual right, . . . he also believes that the Constitution permits federal, state and local government to adopt reasonable and common sense gun safety measures." Though the paragraph is titled "Obama on the D.C. Court case," that specific gun ban is never mentioned.

Obama's dance on gun rights is part of his evolution from the radical young Illinois state legislator he once was. He was recorded in a 1996 questionnaire as advocating a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns (a position he has since disavowed). He was on the board of the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, which takes an aggressive gun control position, and in 2000 considered becoming its full-time president. In 2006, he voted with an 84 to 16 majority (and against Clinton) to prohibit confiscation of firearms during an emergency, but that is his only pro-gun vote in Springfield or Washington. The National Rifle Association grades his voting record (and Clinton's) an "F."

There is no anti-gun litmus test for Democrats. In 2006, Ted Strickland was elected governor of Ohio and Bob Casey U.S. senator from Pennsylvania with NRA grades of "A." Following their model, Obama talks about the rights of "Americans to protect their families." He has not yet stated whether that right should exist in Washington D.C.

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Joel likes: Why have Clinton and Obama ducked the gun control issue?

McClatchy Newspapers

The Democratic presidential candidates' silence is part of a pattern. For years, the national party has downplayed its historic sympathy for gun control for fear that emphasizing it would be politically costly.

When Obama first ran for the Illinois Senate 12 years ago, he answered "yes" to whether he backed banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns in the state.

He's softened that position in recent years. When she was asked why Obama didn't sign one of the Supreme Court briefs, campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "Barack Obama believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he greatly respects the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms."

Clinton has a long history as an outspoken supporter of tough gun-control measures, but she, too, has moderated in recent months; last month in Wisconsin, she described how she once went hunting in Arkansas and shot a banded duck.

At a January debate, she called herself a "political realist, and I understand that the political winds are very powerful against doing enough to try to get guns off the street."

 

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Thoughts

Re: "Red Dawn"

Submitted on April 20th, 2008 by Joel

Unfortunately for the U.S., I think we've seen in Iraq that that fantasy contains more than a little truth to it.

But wait, there's more

Submitted on April 20th, 2008 by Anonymous

It also contains the shall we call it "Red Dawn" fantasy that individuals with their personal weapons would be a match for a modern mechanized army bent on taking those weapons away.

Re: The UN

Submitted on April 20th, 2008 by Joel

Of all the crazy conspiracy theories, that's one of my favorite, really. And it's old school, too! I hadn't heard it since the "9/11 was an inside job" folks started dominating the discussion.

Seriously: Have you seen how effective the U.N. is lately? Have you seen the barely concealed contempt our government has for the U.N.?

The U.N. isn't taking over anything. You might need your guns, but not to fight off a one-world government.

The UN

Submitted on April 20th, 2008 by Anonymous

The UN will disarm us to take control.

A well armed populous is the best defense against tyranny.

Because Presidents set the agenda.

Submitted on April 16th, 2008 by The Big Klosowski

And they hold the power to veto any bill passed. They also appoint Supreme Court justices that fit their view, which make an impact on the rulings of the court.

does this really have real

Submitted on April 16th, 2008 by Anonymous

does this really have real bearing on the presidential election? congress passes the gun control laws, and the judiciary interprets them.

also, gun control laws are largely coming from state legislatures anyway.

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