update 6.26.08

United States Supreme Court Makes a ruling regarding The Washington DC ban on handguns.

Today a ruling upholding our right to own guns as the second amendment of the US Constitution States in a split 5 to 4 decision.  Obama made the following statement before the ruling : He beleived the ban was not in violation to the United States Constitution.  And he favored gun control  laws to keep citizens safe.  Once the ruling was made his position as stated on Atlantic.com

On Gun Control, Obama Has A Different Answer
26 Jun 2008 05:01 pm

The case for Barack Obama's consistency about the DC gun law rests on the following argument. (a) A spokesman gave an incorrect statement on whether Obama supported the DC law. (b) several questionnaires got it wrong -- including one with Obama's handwriting on it. (c) When Obama responded to CNN's Leon Harris, who had just asked him, " 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 and you've said that it's constitutional?...How can you reconcile those two different positions?" and Obama said: "Right, right." -- he was simply acknowledging the question, and for some reason, did not correct Harris in his answer, and (d) has always favored the right of locales to regulate handguns and (e) had never publicly opposed the DC law.

It's true that Obama regularly says and has said that he interprets the 2nd amendment to hold secure an individual's right to bear arms while being constrained by the rights of the community to "maintain public safety," as he put it today.

It's just that, with regard to the DC law, it seems clear that Obama was OK with how DC government balanced those rights and is now OK with the see-saw swinging in the other direction.

First Position from Obama:

 http://hillaryloyalistnowformccain.com/secondamendmentfactcheck.aspx

Obamas direct response from the court decision"

Obama’s written statement said: “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view.”

Fox News Reported:

Obama’s campaign has offered conflicting messages on the controversial D.C. law.

After his campaign said in a statement to The Chicago Tribune last year that “Obama believes the D.C. handgun law is constitutional,” an Obama spokesman told ABC News this week that that statement was an “inartful attempt” to characterize the candidate’s position.

Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court basically agreed with him on gun control.

“All I can say (is) it’s one in a long … series in reversals of positions,” McCain said Thursday, asked about the discrepancy. “In a few days he has gone from opposing nuclear power, to not being a proponent, to willing to explore.

“I fully anticipate — whether it be on his pledge on public financing or his position on the Second Amendment or any other issues — he is changing his positions,” he said. “So it’s not surprising.”

The presumptive GOP nominee has tried to make the flip-flopper tag stick, accusing Obama of reversing course on a prior pledge to take public financing for the general election, and now equivocating on gun rights. Obama has done the same, accusing McCain recently of reversing course to oppose the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.

McCain released a statement applauding the Second Amendment decision Thursday, while Obama released one later saying the Supreme Court decision has “endorsed” his view.

Obama also told FOX Business Network that he has “said consistently that I believe that the Second Amendment is an individual right, and that was the essential decision that the Supreme Court came down on.

“And it also recognized that even though we have an individual right to bear arms, that that right can be limited by sensible, reasonable gun laws,” he said.

In public, though, Obama has spoken carefully and broadly about the D.C. handgun ban. Asked about the Supreme Court case Wednesday, Obama said he would not speculate on the coming decision. He said he supports the Second Amendment, but that local governments should have the right to provide “common sense gun laws” to keep firearms out of the wrong hands.

In other instances, Obama refused to articulate a position when asked whether he thought the D.C. ban was constitutional.

Other than a few departures, McCain is largely in line with the National Rifle Association’s hardline support for gun rights. He voted against a ban on assault-style weapons and for shielding gun-makers and dealers from civil damage suits. But he broke with the NRA to favor requiring background checks at gun shows and has taken heat for pushing through campaign finance legislation that gun-rights advocates say muzzled their free speech.

Obama has voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits. He also took largely liberal positions on gun laws while in the Illinois legislature, including backing a ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.

Though Obama’s spokesman said the statement that the D.C. law is constitutional was “inartful,” Obama himself did not correct a debate moderator who repeated the position in February.

“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 and you’ve said that it’s constitutional,” said the moderator, Leon Harris of Washington television station WJLA. Obama nodded as Harris spoke, nodding and saying, “Right, right.”

The Obama campaign argued that Obama was simply acknowledging the question by saying “right.”

The campaign would not answer directly Thursday when asked whether the candidate agreed with the court that the D.C. ban was unconstitutional, simply pointing back to his statement.

Every voter must evaluate who is going to better protect our rights as Americans.  Do not allow the flip flop of the day to confuse where Obama is comming from. Lets not forget that  Obama made statements that were not intended to be heard by Americans at a San Fransico private fundraiser that claimed midwesterners clung to their guns and religion. Listen to him here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTxXUufI3jA

Obama has a problem with respecting Americans rights.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.

FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.

FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense.

FACT: Barack Obama supports requiring law-abiding gun owners to register their firearms.

FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.

FACT: Barack Obama wants to eliminate your Right to Carry.

FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and “research.”

FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.

FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them.

FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military.

FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods.

FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers.

FACT: Barack Obama supports “one-gun-a-month” sales restrictions.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21.