More on Obama Attorney General Eric Holder

UPDATE: I just read via the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) that Holder was a signer on an Amicus brief in DC v Heller that was in favor of upholding the city's total ban on handguns and functional firearms. Read the brief here. So much for "respecting the Second Amendment". This is the kind of common sense we are in for... Epic fail...

More details are coming out about Eric Holder and his view on the 2nd Amendment - or to clarify, his view on dismantling it. Since Mr. Holder served as Deputy Attorney General for President Clinton many of his statements are on the official record, and it may come as no surprise that he supported Clinton's attacks on gun rights and it takes only a little extrapolation to foresee that these measure will be put forth as "common sense" approaches to gun control. Here are DAG Holder's comments directly from the Justice department's archives:

We know that there is not one simple answer, and we know that there is nothing we can do that will prevent every single crime or act of violence. But we also know that there are some common-sense things that we can do and that we must do. And so I want to add my voice to those who are calling on Congress to finally -- to finally -- pass these very common-sense gun measures:

• First, to require child safety locks for all handguns that are sold.
• Second, to ban violent juveniles from ever having the ability to own guns.
• Third, to pass the president's handgun licensing proposal, which requires safety certification for all handgun purchasers.
• Fourth, to support research in smart gun technology which can limit a gun's use to its authorized owner.

And finally, to close the gun show loophole by requiring a background check for all gun purchases at gun shows.

Full transcript here. Also, keep in mind that at the time of this press conference the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban was in full effect. So you can add that to the list of common sense initiatives that will most likely come out of his office. But don't worry, Mr. Holder has decided that the ban didn't really have an impact on your rights:

The world has not fundamentally changed for the law- abiding citizen who wants to own a gun, despite all the things that we have passed since 1993. And the arguments, the fear that the gun lobby uses to try to block these measures I think should finally crumble in the face of the facts.

I try not to get into other realms of politics on this site, but this sounds an awful lot like the Bush Administration's arguments for warrantless wiretapping, email surveillance, laptop content searches, and DHS proof of citizenship checkpoints...hooray for Change!?

A Letter to the President and Vice President-Elect

Recently on President-Elect Obama's transition website, an agenda was posted that detailed the goals of his administration. Buried under the "Urban Policy" section was Mr. Obama's true intent when it comes to the 2nd Amendment. Outlined was a four step plan to chip away at the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. The steps include making the Clinton-era assault weapons ban permanent, repealing the Tiahrt Amendment (which prevents reckless lawsuits against the firearms industry by preventing fishing in gun trace data), closing the so-called gun show loophole, and the vague but dangerous idea of making all firearms "childproof". I am a member of a Seattle-area group devoted to protecting the 2nd Amendment (Seattle Citizens for the 2nd Amendment) and I submitted a letter to Mr's. Obama and Biden on the group's behalf. The letter appears below. I believe that it is a civil and respectful correspondence and I offer it up as a form that can be used to contact the administration in the future, an action that I encourage all who cherish gun rights to do in the coming months.

Dr Mr.'s President-Elect and Vice President-Elect,

I have written to you as an individual citizen, and now I write to you on behalf of a civil rights organization of which I am a member - Citizens For The 2nd Amendment, Seattle, WA (CFT2A). We at CFT2A would like to share with you our vision for this great country, as well as voice a few concerns. Your message of changing Washington has captivated many in our nation, as well as a number of our members. Our greatest hope is that you defend the Constitution, our freedoms, and rise above the common tactics of politicians who so frequently disappoint us.

That being said, we are very disappointed that you have already proven your detractors correct when it comes to your support of the 2nd Amendment. Buried within the "urban policies" section of your agenda, you offer the same lip service to supporting gun rights that you did on the trail - while at the same time advocating feel-good legislation that has been proven time and again to reduce only our freedoms and not crime rates.

In closing, we the members of CFT2A must urge you to rethink your positions on gun rights and PROVE that you support the 2nd Amendment:
- NO to the disingenuous and ineffective assault weapons ban
- NO to closing the so-called "gun show loophole", it restricts our rights and has little to no effect on crime
- NO to repealing the Tiahrt Amendment, it will not prevent crime and will be used to try to bankrupt the lawful firearms industry. Look to the FOP and their statement against repealing.
- NO to forcing gun manufacturers to make their products 'child-proof'. Look to the NSSF and their voluntary educational and free gun lock program for inspiration.

Our hope lies in freedom belonging to the people and not the government. The members of our group and other lawful gun owners are the people we have been waiting for. Please take these comments into deep consideration. In the meantime we will have to consider making our next votes via our checkbooks, and payment will be remitted to the National Rifle Association.

We truly do wish you the best of luck in your administration.
------------------------
Citizens For The 2nd Amendment
Seattle, WA
Michael Cheney, President
c/o: author

Gun Banning Clinton Official for Obama's AG?

Drudge is currently running a news article that President-elect Obama is trying to gauge if he will have enough Senate confirmation votes to successfully nominate Eric Holder, former Clinton administration Deputy AG. Holder was one of Clinton's enforcers when it came to firearms policy, and while Obama says his administration will choose to focus on other things than guns, it is hard to see someone like Holder not pushing more restrictions with both houses of congress currently held by the Democrats.

Check out the transcript of a press conference headed by Holder during the Clinton era that was focusing on ending the so-called "gun show loophole". In it he says that no reasonable person could oppose private firearms transactions and takes a potshot at the NRA (garnering laughter from a friendly press corps):

Q: Is the NRA opposition waning a bit to all of this?
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER: I wouldn't want to be a spokesman for the NRA, I simply don't know what their position would be on this. But it would seem to me that any reasonable person who would look at what are very reasonable --
Q: We're not talking about reasonable people. We're talking about the NRA.
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER: Well, that was your characterization. (Laughter.)

I am sure that this would just be the beginning of the "common sense" legislation that Obama has stated he supports. Of course, if we want to use actual common sense, it would be difficult to justify the use of high level government officials to waste time and political capital restricting the rights of law abiding citizens on a law that would have little to no measurable effect on crime. And that is according to multiple sources including the New York Times, the NRA, and the very Clinton Justice department that Holder worked for. Even democratic strategist (and Ragin' Cajun) James Carville looked at these stats and argued that the left needs to do a cost-benefit analysis when it comes to this initiative.

I will give the Obama administration the benefit of the doubt for the time being, but nominating Holder seems pretty far from the President-elect's promise of bringing in a broad coalition to his cabinet. Especially when you add in former Clinton official Rham Emmanuel, whose record on firearms issues stands firmly in the "anti" camp with an "F" from the NRA. Let's not even mention the rumors floating around about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Or the short lived agenda that appeared on Obama's transition website where he outlined his true agenda for the second amendment. I'll have more on that one later....