From a local (Southern Illinois) message board Re: Obama:
“I don’t have an axe to grind because of race. However, I don’t trust him at all about not tinkering with gun owners and what they will be allowed to have. He, after all, is supported by the Chicago political machine and they want to take all guns because they can’t control the guns in Chicago. He is going to be the perfect horse to ride. I think he is gullible enough to try and get the entire federal government to outlaw guns. That all being said, he fits the description* morally as well. Most people won’t understand my feelings but he might as well be racist himself when I have owned a gun longer than he has been alive.”
*he had referred to Obama as a bastard.
I’d like to hand this guy his lunch, but I’ve been going back and forth with him, to no avail. Help me! What would your response be?
I suspect that guns are a non issue for Obama. Certainly there are more pressing concerns what with the economy and the war. The topic didn’t come up in the debate, and I haven’t heard him talking about it during the campaign. It’s not even listed on his platform page as far as I can tell. This source seems to indicate that he is somewhat for gun control but probably is happy to leave it up to state and local authorities.
No doubt in my mind it will be fairly easy to get Obama to sign a new Assualt Guns law, as compared to McCain. He may not start new bans, but I think he’d sign them.
Thus if you are a single-issue voter, clearly you’d prefer McCain.
then you can stop listening and walk away. No way to change his mind. I thought every gun owner had a cross-stitch sampler of the 2nd amendment on their bedroom wall, but this guy seems to be unaware of it. It never ceases to amaze how some gun owners spaze out about this sort of thing when they clearly have a great deal of political power and any extensive ban would not stand a chance in the face of an enraged NRA.
Obama and the Democrats can’t ban all guns even if they wanted to, and try worrying about some of the other rights in the Constitution that have been weakened, eroded, and ignored over the past few years.
You just gotta feel sorry for people like this and leave it at that.
People that cling to their guns so tightly and have such an angst about someone taking them away must really, really be fearful of something. And to live with that fear all the time must be sad and depressing.
Even children eventually grow up and can abandon that pacifier or security blanket. They become more self secure and self reliant. “I’m a big boy/girl now and the world isn’t going to hurt me. Time to go out into the world and stop hiding behind my insecurities.”
Some adults still need that security blanket (gun) though and the thought of having it taken from them just terrifies them.
Obama doesn’t like guns, I’ve paid attention. He says very little but his limited record and the fact that he endorses making the Assault Weapons Ban permanent say it all.
I personally don’t appreciate erosion of Constitutional rights.
Of all the ridiculous accusations thrown Obama’s way, this one is rather less stupid than most. Obama is a generally anti-gun (pro gun control) politician. I don’t agree that he will push for a federal gun ban, outside of the silly and ineffective assault weapons bans. However, no gun owner can rely upon Obama to stand up and protect their gun ownership rights.
The general landscape of politics today is one where gun control is more of a window dressing issue, nobody is going to pass any significant ban. His fears are unfounded, but not because of Obama’s politics.
Over the years and over several of the next few administrations, there will be no beheading. There will be thousands of little cuts that will kill the beast just as Shirley…
Do not look to the head of your government, look to the local folks you have elected and you will see wherer the start of the problem always comes from.
I’ve also been hearing on the AM radio shows about how Obama will take away all guns. I don’t get it, Obama did not make outright promises of any sort in the campaign regarding gun control.
Obama did make outright promises about banking, the economic and Iraq. Somehow the far right it more concerned with guns.
I used a compilation of your responses. Hope you don’t mind, but I wasn’t feeling smart enough. Anyway, here is his response, followed by mine. That ends it for me, better than I thought it would end.
Him:
I’m going to give him three years to see if he is all everyone thinks he is. For me, until he has proven himself, the jury is out.
Me:
Quite decent of you. I appreciate your willingness to withhold judgement. A lot of people with your viewpoint are not so diplomatic and I appreciate it. Aw, now I’m getting all warm and fuzzy…Cheers!
If you want to read things some gun owners are saying, you should head over to the gunbroker forum. Many threads run something like this:
'Cause, you know, there’s only the U.S. of A. and totalitarian dictatorships. Nothing in bewteen. Oh, those poor Danes! Those poor Germans! We must invade to remove the yoke of oppression and show them The Way!
Obama has said that he believes that gun ownership is an individual right protected by the Second Amendment, and he supported the Supreme Court’s reversal of the gun ban in DC.
Scaremongering on Gun control is an easy way to rile up the yokels - pure and simple.
The right wing is running out of working buttons what with terrorist, communist, and elitist going dud this election. So now they need to invent some “issues” to keep the checks coming in. That’s why the fairness doctrine and gun control are getting such play. The gun shops love it - sale of guns is about the only thing that’s going up right now.
Recently, I had an intelligent, presumably fair-minded person tell me that Obama’s first priority was going to be bringing back the fairness doctrine and number two was gun control.
I say that Obama should take advantage of the right wing’s paranoia about this. He should name a presidential commission to look at the fairness doctrine - on the commission he should place Jimmie Carter, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jane Fonda. For balance he should add Ed Schultz. That would get the wingers in such a lather they would be unable to do anything else for 8 years. If their attention did start to stray to immigration or health care reform, have the commission release a preliminary report in order to get the wingers to focus.
If the “assault weapons” ban was all Clinton did, I don’t expect any more from the Obama administration.
How many Democrats were in Congress during Clinton’s first term?
And Michael Moore. Don’t forget Michael Moore. There would be bloodstains all over Free Republic from freeper’s heads exploding. It would be quite fun to witness.