Tester says Obama is no threat to gun rights

A leading defender of the Second Amendment, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) says that a Barack Obama Presidency will not threaten the rights of gun owners.

The National Rifle Association has launched a campaign targeting Obama for his support of gun control measures but Tester disagrees with the powerful lobby.

Montana's Flathead Beacon http://www.flatheadbeacon.com reports Tester stating:

"I've got to tell you, I've talked to Barack. I think he understands the issue much better than before," Tester said in a conference call with reporters from Denver. "I am one of those guys who likes my guns, to be honest with you."

"Tester said that Obama was very clear with him."

"He told me flat out, 'I'm not taking your guns away and don't let anybody tell you that I will,'" Tester recalled. "This campaign does not need to be about fear, this guy is not going to take away your guns."

"Tester also said that Obama has an edge over McCain with hunters because the Democrat will do a better job of protecting public lands and open space."
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/tester_obama_a_regular_guy_not_a_threat_to_guns/5285/

Some influential Democrats are taking the lead on matters of concern to sportsmen. The National Journal Online www.nationaljournal.com
reports:

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., spoke at a National Wildlife Federation briefing Wednesday afternoon, pushing efforts to expand conservation areas for hunting and fishing grounds as well as better protection of the environment for sportsmen.

"Sportsmen have been stereotyped as concerned with one issue: guns. But if you listen to sportsmen as I have over the years ... we hear a different story," said Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation.

The goal is to allow Democrats to play at least a little on the offense on an issue that party leaders will not bring up because of fear of major political repercussions to its members by the powerful National Rifle Association. Top Democrats are still reeling from NRA-led defeats in 1994 of their members who voted for the Brady Bill and legislation to ban some assault weapons. Others say the issue likely cost Gore a win in West Virginia in 2000 that would have put him in the White House.

Dingell said hunting and fishing areas need better environmental protection, specifically citing that enforcement of the Clean Water Act needs to be beefed up to protect those lands. "These have not been a good eight years," said Dingell, a stalwart NRA member. Lincoln cited the increasing loss of public hunting areas that threaten the opportunities for families to go shooting or fishing, like hers will do in a few weeks at a dove hunt in Maryland.

"Democrats are all about conservation. They are all about preservation. I think that's a huge opportunity," Lincoln said.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/conventions/co_20080828_8741.php

A blogger for the pro-gun rights Amendment II Democrats had this to say about Obama and his stand on the right to keep and bear arms:

Obama spoke of the gun debate in the same vein as he did abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and immigration in terms of trying to establish common ground between both sides of the debate in classic Hegelian fashion. He cannot be faulted for trying. But his choice of words on the gun issue left much to be desired.

Page 48 of the 2008 Democratic platform explicitly calls for "reinstating the assault weapons ban, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals." This implies, of course, that if you wish to own a rifle with a pistol grip, our party platform has just likened you to the enemies of the public good. Obama's running mate is Senator Joe Biden, who has made banning semi-automatics a top legislative priority and shows no sign of backing away from said legislation now that he's on the ticket.

Despite the increasing presence of Democrats such as Brian Schweitzer, Russ Feingold, Jim Webb, and Bill Richardson who are embracing our Second Amendment rights, it seems that gun policy for the Democratic Party is still being dictated by the likes of the Brady Campaign and the Violence Policy Center instead of by Democrats themselves.

Isn't it time our party found its own voice on gun legislation?

Doesn't our party deserve better than to be snared by the pitfalls of the past?

Standing at that podium, Obama could have made one small change to his acceptance speech without compromising his own core values: "Don't tell me we can't guarantee the right of law-abiding Americans to own AK-47s while keeping them out of the hands of criminals." A small change in wording, true, but one that would have added a new dimension of clarity to Obama's gun policy. And brought in votes from old-school Republicans and independents who can't stand John McCain.

Most important of all, that small change would have demonstrated that Democrats are truly tolerant of other people's choices.

Since the semi-auto ban was passed in 1994, Democrats have been wandering in the wilderness. In 2006, we managed to catch a glimpse of where we needed to be all along.

So my exhortation to Brarack Obama and all my fellow Democrats is for us to find our own voice, shake the dust from our feet, shoulder up our guns, and come on home at last.

http://blog.myspace.com/a2dems

My take: Obama's support for ban on semi-automatic weapons is a bad idea and will no doubt hurt him in November as it will alarm gun owners that envision a slippery slope toward a total confiscation of all firearms. Gun rights supporters should continue to defend their rights but need to look at the big picture rather than being single issue voters. After all, the U.S. Supreme Court has just affirmed the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. With a significant number of pro-gun rights Democrats in Congress, it is going to very difficult for Obama to pass the semi-automatic weapons ban if he wins the general election.