Let's get away from the Hussein and Muslim catch-phrases, shall we?
Unfortunately, both our presidential candidates seem to ignore the part of the 2nd Amendment that says "SHALL NOT" be infringed.
But let's not lose sight of what Barack Obama says on his website regarding guns. He says that he believes the 2nd Amendment creates an individual right to bear arms and that he respects that right, but here's what he says:
Quote:
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Millions of hunters own and use guns each year. Millions more participate in a variety of shooting sports such as sporting clays, skeet, target and trap shooting that may not necessarily involve hunting . . . He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting. He also believes that the right is subject to reasonable and commonsense regulation.
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You'll note that explicitly absent from Obama's statement is any mention of the use of firearms for self-defense, the most fundamental reason for the 2nd Amendment and for owning guns in the first place. He doesn't mention self-defense when talking about the reasons people bear arms, and he doesn't mention self-defense when talking about protecting gun rights.
Why? A common oversight by the authors of the website? Perhaps. But it's rather conspicuous, don't you think? I cannot remember a presidential candidate in the last couple of decades who ignored the self-defense aspect. In fact, that's usually the first term out of their mouth when talking about gun rights.
Let's not forget that Obama has stated his preference for banning all handguns (in 1994), and later didn't vote for such a ban in Illinois, but didn't vote against it, either (playing his usual game of present but not voting to prevent Americans from realizing his stance on the issues). And, he's also stated his preference for banning all semi-automatic weapons (in 1998).
I'm not a huge fan of John McCain's stance on the 2nd Amendment. I fear he will sign a renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban (and let's make no mistake: The only reason Democrats in Congress haven't pushed this issue is because they realize how badly it cost them in 1994 and they want to wait until after the '08 election cycle. It WILL come up in 2009, you can bet on it). But I've never heard McCain say anything about banning handguns or semi-automatic firearms.
Be afraid of Barack Obama's stance on firearms.
GUNS
