Getting in Obama's Face on the 2nd Amendment

Obama's recent comments about "getting in the face of" and "arguing" with friends and neighbors who disagree with the Senator are making the rounds across the internet. Here are the exact words from his address to a crowd of about 1500 in Elko, NV:

I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face. And if they tell you that, 'Well, we're not sure where he stands on guns.' I want you to say, 'He believes in the Second Amendment.' ...You are my ambassadors. You guys are the ones who can make the case.

Spokesmen from his Minnesota Sportsmen's chapter are already taking the offensive, as seen by this statement:

Tell me where Senator Obama says `I want stricter controls on who can hunt and when' or 'I want to ban shotguns and rifles' Where has he said that? He hasn't.

Obama's call to action and the statements of his campaign are tough talk, but it is talk that is skillfully crafted to avoid important specifics on what form the Senator's support for the 2nd Amendment takes. Obama's toothless belief in gun rights is well documented. His blanket claim of support is a deflection that avoids an issue where the Senator has an unusually long record of votes and statements.

The statement by the Minnesota Sportsment, if read closely, actually shines a light on how narrow his support of the 2nd amendment is. It is correct that Obama has not asked for stricter controls on who can hunt and when. But he HAS asked to make it virtually impossible to find a place to purchase a firearm. He has supported reckless lawsuits against the manufacturers of the firearms that hunters use. He has supported the ban of common types of rifles, shotguns, and standard hunting ammunition.

The sportsmen are also correct that Obama has not called for an all-out ban on shotguns and rifles. But as shown above, few would types would be legal if all of Obama's votes passed, and it would be costly, burdensome, and near impossible to purchase one. Also notice that the statement leaves out the words "handguns" or "pistols". This is because you can easily find documentation on Obama supporting a ban on all handguns. In addition, you can find statements by the Senator supporting actual operational handgun bans in places such as Chicago and DC.

Voters may support Barack Obama for any number of reasons. They may agree with him on healthcare, education, foreign policy, taxation, or simply on a message of hope. But they should not be duped into believing that he has ever supported the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution in any measurable fashion. I personally encourage any of my friends and neighbors that might identify me as a republican, independent, or libertarian to get in my face an argue with me. It is an argument that I am ready for, and there is not enough "Hope" in the world to supress the facts.