OBAMA MISREPRESENTS GUN CONTROL STAND IN PENNSYLVANIA RACE

The Politico posted a story today reporting that Barack Obama is making a play for pro-gun voters in rural Pennsylvania.

Wait a minute, how can he pull that off, since he has unreservedly supported gun control legislation his entire political career? Even supporting an OUTRIGHT BAN on the manufacture, sale AND POSSESSION of all handguns! According to Politico:

“By highlighting his background in constitutional law and downplaying his voting record, Obama is engaging in a quiet but targeted drive to win over an important constituency that on the surface might seem hostile to his views.”

Obama had better hope that those NRA members in the Keystone State (not to mention the other registered voters) do not read Obama’s questionnaire (read responses to part 2 of the survey), on the at the request of a liberal group in Chicago 12 years ago.

If you visit the above link, and go to question 35, you will see that Obama represented that he supports legislation to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns!

To make it even worse for the Chicago candidate for president, when the political blog The Politico first reported Obama’s 1996 responses to the survey in Politico’s December 11, 2007 article entitled Liberal views could haunt Obama, the Obama campaign claimed that the questionnaire was filled out by an over-zealous staffer, and that Obama NEVER EVEN SAW the survey, let alone filled it out.

The full truth did not emerge until The Politico obtained an amended copy of the questionnaire that bore Obama’s own handwritten changes, and then reported the Obama lie on March 31, 2008:

”Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obama’s answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he “never saw or approved” the questionnaire. They asserted the responses were filled out by a campaign aide who “unintentionally mischaracterize[d] his position.” But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago nonprofit group that issued it. And it found that Obama — the day after sitting for the interview — filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer.”

And, as the Politico article points out at page 2:

“Both versions of the 1996 questionnaires provide answers his presidential campaign disavows to questions about whether Obama supports capital punishment and state legislation to “ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.””

“He responded simply “No” and “Yes,” respectively, to those questions on both questionnaires.”

BOTTOM LINE: Obama’s views on gun control are so extreme that in 1996 he twice filled out a survey when he was running for office clarifying that he supports an outright ban on the manufacture, possession and sale of handguns, no exceptions. Then in this presidential campaign he lied about it.

*****April 6, 2008 Update****


Los Angeles law professor Eugene Volokh’s blog posted this item about radical anti-gun legislation proposed by Senator Obama in 1998. (Read Volokh post here.)

This is further, even more recent evidence of just how much Barack Obama is misrepresenting his record on gun control to win Pennsylvania:

http://volokh.com/posts/1203389334.shtml#contact

[David Bernstein, February 18, 2008 at 9:48pm] Trackbacks
Obama and Gun Control:
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His record isn't likely to win back the rural "pro-gun" voters who've fled to the Republicans in recent years, likely costing Gore the election in 2000. From the Chicago Defender, Dec. 13, 1999:
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Sweeping federal gun control legislation proposed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-13th) would increase the penalties on gun runners who are flooding Chicago's streets with illegal weapons.
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At an anti-gun rally held at the Park Manor Christian Church, 600 E. 73rd St., headed by the Rev. James Demus, Obama also said he's backing a resolution being introduced into the City Council by Alds. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Ted Thomas (15th), Leslie Hairston (5th) to call for a "shot-free" millennium celebration.
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Obama outlined his anti-gun plan that includes increased penalties for the interstate transportation of firearms. The maximum penalty now for bringing a gun across the border is 10 years in prison. Obama is proposing to make it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from his residence which causes harm to another person if that weapon was not securely stored in that home. [!!!]
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He's proposing restricting gun purchases to one weapon a month and banning the sale of firearms at gun shows except for "antique" weapons. Obama is also proposing increasing the licensing fee to obtain a federal firearms license.
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He's also seeking a ban on police agencies from reselling their used weapons even if those funds are used to buy more state-of-the-art weapons for their agencies. Obama wants only those over 21 who've passed a basic course to be able to buy or own a firearm.
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He's proposing that all federally licensed gun dealers sell firearms in a storefront and not from their homes while banning their business from being within five miles of a school or a park. He's also banning the sale of 'junk" handguns like the popular Saturday Night Specials.
Obama is requiring that all people working at a gun dealer undergo a criminal background check. He's also asking that gun manufacturers be required to develop safety measures that permit only the original owner of the firearm to operate the weapon purchased.
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Additionally, he wants an increase of the funds for schools to teach anger management skills for youth between the ages of 5-13. Obama is also seeking to increase the federal taxes by 500 percent on the sale of firearm, ammunition [sic] -- weapons he says are most commonly used in firearm deaths."