Obama and Gun Rights, the Evidence is not so Good

On Glenn Beck tonight he discussed the Obama Administrations plans for gun control over the next couple of years. During the discussion he put up a quote regarding how to best get more gun control. The quote discussed better background checks and mental health issues.  The one thing that caught my eye was the statement (paraphrased) efforts should also focus on those who have no need to legitimately own a gun. That caused me to sit back for a moment. Once you eliminate the felons and criminals, and the mentally ill folks from owning and possessing guns what else is there? Who are the folks who have no need to legitimately own a gun?

Well, based on how he and some of his cabinet members and other advisors feel about guns and their desire to either highly control them or eliminate them altogether I fear those who have no legitimate need for guns would be the rest of us, at least in their minds. If they get the opportunity to change the laws, we will the ones who don't have a legitimate reason to own a gun. Obama has, in the past, stated he supports bans on right to carry for everyone except police officers.

Obama has pushed for a 500% tax increase on guns and ammo. He has supported the laws in Chicago and DC that were recently over-turned by the SCOTUS. He supported a ban on all firearms in the home, even for self-protection. He wanted a nationwide ban on the right to carry. He has voted against a self-defense exception which absolves folks of violating gun bans when their reason for violating those bans is to fend off home intruders. While running for Illinois state senate, he supported a blanket ban on the sale, manufacture, and possession of all handguns. Obama has also proposed a federal law banning licensed firearm dealers from operating within five miles of any school or park. This would have effectively shutdown almost every gunshop in the nation, which I would imagine was his goal.  He did not sign a letter to the SCOTUS signed by 300 congress-critters supporting Hellar. One of his top advisors, Cass Sunstein has on occasion stated his opposition to law abiding gun ownership.  See these clips here, here, and here. Some of the videos repeat, but they are worth a watch and listen. The ‘animals have rights too’ video is especially interesting.

For full disclosure, I am not a gun owner, but I will be changing that in the very near future. I firmly believe in the Constitutional guarantee that I have the right the bear arms. But I am also pragmatic about it. According to some polls, more than 80% of Americans and even gun owners support requiring background checks for those purchasing a weapon. I also support this requirement. I also support tougher laws and tougher enforcement of current laws to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

In response to the Tucson Tragedy, Obama and his crew have re-doubled their efforts to curb gun rights. In an op-ed piece in the Arizona Daily Star he opines that we need stricter enforcement of current laws and regulations. He also gives a shout out to all those gun owners by saying, “The fact is, almost all gun owners in American are highly responsible.” Throughout the entire column he sounds down-right centrist. But please review what I wrote above; he does not have a good track record when it comes to gun rights. And now his administration, realizing that it would be impossible to get any news laws passed that curb gun owner rights, has decided that maybe the best way is through executive order. He has had a few meetings with his DOJ to discuss just how to go about this. His hands are tied a bit due to the whole checks and balances thing in the Constitution, but when has that ever bothered his crew (See EPA and Carol Browner).

President Obama and his crew need to be challenged at every opportunity on any attempts to curb our guns rights. While Obama gives common sense lip service, I do firmly believe there can be solutions, but it won’t be accomplished by this anti-gun administration.