I was preparing to write an article discussing Barack Obama’s extensive anti gun rights record, but found this excellent post on the subject. Simply put, Obama, like Joe Biden, is as anti-gun as it gets.
FACT: Barack Obama voted against the confirmation of 2 of the 5 Justices that affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms.
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.
To that list I would add that Obama is opposed to self defense, and favors allowing cities to prosecute citizens for successfully defending themselves with a gun in their own home. Obama voted against S.B. 2165 (IL 2004) that was designed to protect citizens who rightfully defended themselves from unjust gun possession charges. The bill passed with overwhelming support. The Governor vetoed the bill, and the Illinois state legislature overrode the veto – despite Obama’s best efforts.
Sources and additional information:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.guns.html
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4221&issue=
http://www.gunbanobama.com/Default.aspx?NavGuid=e7a4e2d7-1dff-47cd-9d6e-ef10cbb9623b&ID=328
Tsk tsk tsk, when will my fellow liberals learn that guns aren't the enemy, it's criminals. BTW, I would've voted against those two SC justices too. 🙂
I see you feel my pain too, Danny. I (obviously) appreciate gun rights, but I also support our other civil rights (see http://www.myrandomtangents.com). Aside from D.C. v. Heller, I generally don't agree with Alito, Roberts, Scalia, or Thomas – and Kennedy isn't my favorite Justice these days either. In fact, out of the hundreds of Supreme Court cases I've read in law school, there are only a handful in which I agree with the first 4 Justices listed…
It boggles my mind that about 1/2 of society will support the right to abortion but not the right to own a gun in the home, when both of these rights are privacy and self determination issues…