Obama has record of gun control but tells voters “I have no intention of taking away folks' guns."

[rodeodance]

Obama has record of gun control but tells voters “I have no intention of taking away folks' guns."

……..3) And yesterday there was an AP story where Senator Obama told the voters of Idaho: "And then there are people who say, 'Well, he doesn't believe in the Second Amendment,' even though I come from a state -- we've got a lot of hunters in downstate Illinois. And I have no intention of taking away folks' guns." But he didn't disclose to those voters, as the AP said that "he does support gun control and has a record of voting for it in the Illinois Senate. He backed limiting handgun purchases to one a month, but he made no attempts to ban them." When he originally ran for the state legislature 12 years ago, he filled out a questionnaire saying he "supported banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns." He gave the voters of Idaho no indication whatsoever of either his record in the State Senate or his prior views on the questionnaire.

AP story: Obama mentions God and guns in Idaho
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_el_pr/obama

[candice]

1. Who wants to give up their semi-automatics? Not Bu$h, not Obama!

We need more metal detectors at schools and shopping malls. it's not guns that kill people, it people who want some control over guns.

Do whatever you can for the vote, O!

[annie1]

2. i hate his folksy language, it really fucking irritates me. I know he's just...

doing it to dumb it down for people, but it really irritates me.

[ClassWarrior]

3. Okay Lush Rimjob, since when does sane gun laws = "taking away folks' guns?"

NGU.

[rodeodance]

4. is that what Rush said?

[ClassWarrior]

5. You know damn well that's how every RW nutjob tries to avoid responsibility...

...for owning firearms.

NGU.

[rodeodance]

7. hey hey--i should have put on the Sarcasm button

[ClassWarrior]

8. So this entire thread is nothing but flamebait?

Talk about abdicating personal responsibility.

NGU.

[rodeodance]

12. you decide, I post.

[physioex]

6. I don't what he said...

but it does sound like that. As a gun owner, I am not afraid of Obama sending in the feds to take my guns. I am all for sane gun regulations and not falling for RW rhetoric...

[madrchsod]

13. yes responsiable gun owners will not get upset with obama`s

position on hand gun purchase laws or that he in wrote that no hand guns in 96..if a gun owner has a problem with anything he said they were not going to vote for him anyway.

i gave up mine when i moved to town ,i don`t hunt but used them for varmints around the farm..

[krispos42]

10. "Assault weapon" ban, for one.

Of course, such a law is not sane, but there are a substantial amount of people that think such a law is sane. And effective as a crime prevention measure, to boot.

H.R. bill 1022, which picked up the backing of over four dozen Democrats in the House in 2007, would have expanded the arbitrary definition of "assault weapon" to practically anything, and gave the power to specify particular makes and models as such entirely to the Attorney General.

Of course, technically, it isn't "taking" people's guns. They just couldn't buy them any more, either privately or from a dealer. If you owned one you can only sell it to a gun dealer. Likewise, if you die, nobody can inherent it, either. Straight off to the furnace to be recycled, sold to China, then sold back to us as cheaply manufactured goods coated in lead paint.

[madrchsod]

15. that`s the problem with the assualt rifle ban

every one has a different opinion of what they are.

[krispos42]

16. Most emphatically not "assault rifle"

An "assault rifle" is a specific thing with a pretty clear definition.

"Assault weapon" is a ambiguous, pejorative term that preys on confusion and mis-perception of the general public. It's about owning the language, much like the terms "death tax" and "partial-birth abortion" in place of "inheirentence tax" and "late-term abortion".

Under the 1993 federal definition of "assault weapon", certain rifles, shotguns, and handguns were classified as "assault weapons" based entirely on cosmetic features.

[avaistheone1]

9. Obama has a bad records on lots of issues:

like nuclear power, coal and even social security.

My best advice is don't vote for him.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. Hmmm, that's very suspicious. I think you might have the key to the whole primary here, if

only you can develop this theme and make sure it get into the public mind, on all the 24 hour news channels, on blogs near and far, around the world in fact, and produce a mailer sent out to thousands, no not thousands, but millions, yes millions of primary voter households, then, and only then you and Hill can rule the earth like the good lord intended.

Good plan, my friend, good plan, yes. A very very good plan!!!!!!!!

(edited for spelling)

[madrchsod]

14. especially the homes where people have lost loved ones

to thugs who use hand guns as the weapons of choice....

[John Q. Citizen]

18. Yes, they would be mad at Obama for taking their gun away so they can't even defend themselves,

of course on the other hand, they might like Obama because guns would be less available and there would be less gun violence. Hmmm, not sure how to spin that one, but I'm working on it, yes, I'm working on it.

OK, I'll cut the crap. By the way, I love your Wobbly picture. When I was growing up on the West coast I knew an old man, a Wobbly, and he used sit downtown and play the musical saw with a bow. He was pretty good. Also the Union hall in Downtown Missoula was an old Wobbly stronghold. They still have the buttons (buzzers, no longer hooked up) in every office for in case the goon squad came and they needed to alert everyone to come out and defend the hall. Ok back to the issue.


Guns as an issue is dependant on location. In many urban areas, many people are in favor of gun control because there is a lot of violence involving guns, and it is a very popular issue.

In other places, usually less densely populated locations, people just love their guns. I've never owned a gun, I'm not an avid hunter, but lots of people do keep guns. There is hardly any problem with that, very little gun violence, in fact the biggest problem is suicides. So around here, the issue is very unpopular. In fact our elected dems go out of their way to let people know they enjoy hunting, target shooting, etc.

I figure as in issue it needs to be addressed on a local or regional level. Where people feel the need for more control because of persistent problems, they should be able to implement greater control, and where they don't have problems, people can't understand what the need is and don't want more controls.

[krispos42]

23. The issue is more complex than that

The UK tried the simplistic approach (ban'em all, no exceptions, no grandfathering), and it didn't work. Yeah, gun violence and gun murders are down, but overall numbers of both are at near-record highs. And that's with 400,000 police-monitored CCTV cameras in London alone!

Remember, strict gun-control laws affect the law-abiding first and foremost, the career criminal last and least.


In addition, our non-gun homicide rate is as high as the total homicide rate of many of the industrialized Western European nations. Even assuming that every single gun-related violent crime would just "go away" instead of being committed with another weapon (which is not reasonable), we still have fundamental, underlying problems.

The "War" on Drugs is part of it. So is a lack of mental-health and addiction-treatment care. I don't think Reaganomics is helping, either, and when a million or so Iraq vets are on the streets by the time this whole sorry affair is over, most of them (again) without the proper mental-health treatments and counseling, it's probably going to increase noticably. :-(

[jackson_dem]

17. Obama has consistently moved to the right in his career

But Obamites either pretend it hasn't happened or think it is a good thing while they swiftboated Edwards for moving to the left. Get it? Moving to the right is good! Moving to the left is baaaad!

Why has Obama done this? Look at the votes he was seeking in his career. As he tries to appeal to a larger, more diverse constituency he moves to the right. State senate to Illinois to United States.

[John Q. Citizen]

19. Do you have a link? Hey my candidate was Kucinich and when Edwads tried to

conspire with Hillary to kick him out of the debate, I thought that sucked.

Edwards health care plan is just as shity as Obama's and Clinton's. It's another half assed measure that keeps the insurance company leeches in the cat bird seat. Helping write and introduce the IWR was also not one of his shining moments.

I fart in your general direction, if you know what I mean.

On the other haned, Edwards contributed a lot in bringing up and highlighting the issue of poverty, so I guess he's not all bad or all good. Just another human trying to make it through the night, so to speak.

Unlike the evil Obamma of course, who's all bad all the time, right?

[jackson_dem]

20. Yeah I hate Barack! That is why I spent three hours waiting and attending his rally today!

:sarcasm:

Link? Look at his record. Obama is a good Democrat, just like Hillary and Edwards. He has moved to the right from a very progressive starting point but he is hardly another Ben Nelson. The idea Obama has never flip flopped is idiotic.

[John Q. Citizen]

21. Well tell us about it. Where the pictures?

[jackson_dem]

22. I have a thread on it