Hey, Obama supporters!
You're supposed to "argue and get in my face"!
In Elko, Obama tried to anticipate his critics and called on the crowd of about 1,500 to sharpen their elbows, too.
"I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," he said.
"And if they tell you that, 'Well, we're not sure where he stands on guns.' I want you to say, 'He believes in the Second Amendment.'
Oh really?
[Obama] backed federal legislation that would ban citizens from carrying weapons, except for law enforcement. He cited Texas as an example of a place where a law allowing people to carry weapons has “malfunctioned” because hundreds of people granted licenses had prior convictions.” “National legislation will prevent other states’ flawed concealed-weapons laws from threatening the safety of Illinois residents,” Obama said.
- Chicago Tribune, Feb. 20, 2004
35. Do you support state legislation to:
a. ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes
b. ban assault weapons? Yes.
c. mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.
- 1996 Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) survey
John Lott
Last November, Obama's campaign told the Chicago Tribune that "Obama believes the DC handgun law is constitutional." After Obama's statement yesterday supporting the Supreme Court striking down the ban, Obama's campaign disowned the statement as an “inartful attempt” to characterize his position.
The problem is that he personally voiced support for the DC ban at other times. Earlier this year, he did this himself, not something that he could blame on a staffer. ABC 7's Washington, DC anchor Leon Harris asked Obama: "One other issue that's of great importance here in the district as well is gun control. You said in Idaho recently - I'm quoting here - 'I have no intention of taking away folks' guns,' but you support the D.C. handgun ban." Obama's simple response: "Right." When Harris said "And you've said that it's constitutional," Obama is clearly caught on tape nodding his head yes.
But there is more to his support of city gun bans than his statements on the DC ban. As the Associated Press described his 2004 vote on a gun control bill: "He also opposed letting people use a self-defense argument if charged with violating local handgun bans by using weapons in their homes. The bill was a reaction to a Chicago-area man who, after shooting an intruder, was charged with a handgun violation."
The notion that Obama has consistently believed that there is an individual right to own guns is also hard to fathom. Here is politician who supported a ban on handguns in 1996, who supported a ban on the sale of all semi-automatic guns in 1998 (a ban that would encompass the vast majority of guns sold in the US), who advocated in 2004 banning gun sales within 5 miles of a school or park (essentially a ban on virtually all gun stores), as well as worked in other ways to support bans.
And after you're finished with that, you can explain how he didn't really work for ACORN, an organization that was instrumental in pushing for the lower mortgage lending standards that lead (along with ultra-low Fed rates) directly to the current financial crisis. (And which has a long history of voter fraud.) You can explain that he's not really the 2nd largest beneficiary of donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You can explain-like a Jehovah's Witness explaining that Jesus really did return in 1914 and is reigning invisible-that Obama really was as good as his word and did fire lobbyist of the year Tony Gutman. Then we can talk about how Obama helped convicted criminal Tony Rezko pack the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board-the very crime Rezko was convicted for.
The Obama Christ has said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel." So let's hear it. Let's hear the good news of "Change" and "Hope".