No Matter Who Wins the Office of U.S. President, The Constitution is Screwed

The following information is from the Gun Owner's of America website at http://gunowners.org/pres08/

Credit is given to the individual writers of each segment.

I am posting it here because this stuff needs be yelled from the mountain tops.
- grumpy.


Hillary Clinton: Socialist Gun-Grabber by Craig FieldsDirector of Internet Operations. GOA

It is patently obvious that Hillary Clinton's policies are of a decidely socialist bent -- generally along the European model. America awakened to this truth as a result of the "Hillarycare" debacle during her husband's first term.
Since becoming a Senator from New York, though, she has added big-government gun control to her resume.
There is really little point in detailing Clinton's vote-by-vote record on the Second Amendment. That's because every single time there has been a gun-related vote in the Senate that GOA has tracked, Sen. Clinton has voted anti-gun. Without fail, she opts to restrict the rights of Americans to keep and bear firearms -- 100% of the time.
So, in keeping with the socialist ideals which guide her policies in other areas, she's a dedicated gun-grabber.
But the danger is far greater than that. She doesn't just vote wrong... she is an active leader in the campaign to disarm the citizenry step by step. Thus, it is far more telling to discuss what previous and upcoming restrictive legislation she cosponsors.
Sponsoring bills is the hallmark of the most outspoken anti-gun leaders such as Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Sen. Chuck Schumer. They constantly come up with new ideas to chip away at the Second Amendment and then write them into legislation. Clinton doesn't do this at all. She's too busy socializing other aspects of American life.
Any legislator can write any bill he or she wants, but getting one passed is (thankfully) another story indeed. That's where cosponsorship comes into play. Telling fellow legislators "Hey, I'm with you on this... put my name on the bill, too" is Sen. Clinton's preferred course of action.
The bottom line legislatively is that bills with large numbers of cosponsors stand a much greater chance of getting committee hearings, then voted out of committee, and finally scheduled for a full vote on the floor of the legislative body. Cosponsorship is important, and it identifies those (in addition to the bill's author) who are leading the charge for its passage. It is so important that the GOA rating of "F-" is reserved solely for sponsors and cosponsors of anti-gun bills -- no legislator can drop that low in any other manner, even with a 0% voting record such as Clinton's.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has truly earned her F- rating. Her record of cosponsoring anti-gun initiatives reads like a Sarah Brady wish list.



Anti-gun Bills Hillary Clinton Cosponsored:
Congress:
S. 368: Massively expand federal funding and control of local law enforcement.
110th
S. 456: Treat firearms offenses as though they were Mafia or gang-releated crimes.
110th
S. 527: Redefine more handgun ammunition as "armor piercing".
109th
S. 578: FBI to maintain gun sales records of persons on "watch lists" for 10 years.
109th
S. 620: Reinstate the expired ban on semi-automatic firearms and magazines.
109th
S. 645: Semi-auto ban plus a ban on some youth sportshooting competitions.
109th
S. 935: Fifty-caliber ban.
109th
S. 22: Omnibus gun control: gun show ban, lifetime juvenile offender ban, FBI record-keeping, much more.
108th
S. 448: Huge bill including a magazine ban, gun show ban, mandatory trigger locks, one-handgun-a-month, etc.
108th
S. 1034: Semi-auto ban reauthorization.
108th
S. 1431: Vastly expanded semi-auto ban reauthorization (more guns banned plus other anti-gun provisions).
108th
S. 1774: Permanently ban polymer-framed (so-called "plastic") firearms.
108th
S. 1807: Gun show ban.
108th
S. 1882: FBI to maintain gun sales records of persons on "watch lists".
108th
S. 1983: National ballistic registry of all new fireams, plus increased BATF power and funding.
108th
S. 2109: Ten-year extension of the semi-auto ban then in effect.
108th
S. 16: "Crime bill" including: gun show ban, lifetime juvenile offender ban, FBI record-keeping, much more.
107th
S. 767: Gun show ban.
107th
S. 924: Expand federal police power, specifically the federal government's role in "firearms-related incidents."
107th
S. 940: Gun show ban included in a large education bill.
107th
S. 1253: Register lawful gun buyers for a minimum of 90 days.
107th
S. 1788: Audit background check information; make it available for both criminal and civil inquiries.
107th


Will The Real Romney Please Stand Up?
by Erich PrattDirector of Communications GOA

As he travels through the South -- contemplating a run for the presidency -- Mitt Romney sounds like the modern-day incarnation of John Wayne.
He tells shooters how he used to hunt rabbits as a boy. He visits with attendees at gun shows, impressing them with his knowledge of the Bill of Rights. He quotes the "right to keep and bear arms" language from memory and assures gun owners he's on their side.
But wait, isn't this the same Mitt Romney -- the former governor of Massachusetts -- who boasted that his view on firearms was "not going to make me the hero" of the gun lobby?
In fact, it is one and the same man. So what happened to the candidate who promised that he would not lift a finger to "chip away" at the gun laws in Massachusetts -- a state that has some of the most draconian gun restrictions in the union?
When Romney ran for Senate in 1994, he told the Boston Herald that he supported the Brady gun-control law and a ban on scores of semi-automatic firearms. Both laws were heavily supported by Democrats and -- according to President Bill Clinton -- were the reason that his party lost control of the Congress in 1994.
Ten years later, the federal ban on semi-automatic firearms was stripped from the law books. The banned guns became legal once again, and despite the Chicken Little cries from gun control advocates around the country, crime rates did not soar.
This should not be surprising. After the semi-auto ban expired in 2004, the Congressional Research Service admitted there was no evidence to support the notion that the ban had actually reduced crime, especially since -- and here's a great admission -- the "banned weapons and magazines were never used in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders" before the ban was implemented.
Likewise, the Brady gun control law has done nothing to curb crime, as was reported in one of the nation's leading anti-gun medical publications, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The journal definitively stated in 2000 that the Brady law has failed to reduce "homicide rates and overall suicide rates" in states after they were required to impose waiting periods and background checks.
But despite the failure of these gun laws, Romney did not back off his support for gun control during his run for governor in 2002.
"We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them," he said during a gubernatorial debate with Democratic candidate Shannon O'Brien. "I won't chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."
Perhaps Mr. Romney knows something that the criminologists don't know -- the criminologists who have actually studied these issues and have reported that gun control has failed to make people safer.
What we do know is that even in Massachusetts, Romney has tried to appease both sides of the aisle. As governor, Romney supported legislation to ease restrictions on gun licensing in the state, but he only did so at the expense of gun rights, as he signed a draconian ban on common, household firearms that are owned by millions of Americans across the nation.
This is kind of like the thief who sticks a gun in your ribs and demands $100, but then gives you $25 back to "soften" the blow.
Seeing that Mr. Romney likes to frequent both sides of the legislative aisle, Americans are going to want to know where he really stands on issues that are important to them. And when they go to polls next year, voters are going to be asking, "Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up?"

John McCain's Gun Control Problemby John VellecoDirector of Federal Affairs
In 2000, Andrew McKelvey, the billionaire founder of monster.com, threw a sizable chunk of his fortune into the gun control debate.
It was shortly after the Columbine school shooting. Bill Clinton was in the White House and gun control was daily front-page news. McKelvey wanted in.
He started out contributing to Handgun Control Inc., which had since been renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. But while he agreed with their gun banning goals, McKelvey thought the way they packaged their message was too polarizing.
"I told them that Handgun Control was the wrong name. I thought what they were doing was great but I thought it could be done differently," McKelvey said.
So McKelvey struck out on his own and formed Americans for Gun Safety. Although AGS shared almost identical public policy goals as other anti-gun groups, McKelvey portrayed the group as in the 'middle' on the issue and attempted to lure pro-gun advocates into his fold.
To pull it off, he needed a bipartisan coalition with credibility on both sides of the gun debate. On the anti-gun side, the task was easy. Most of the Democrats and a small but vocal minority of Republicans supported President Clinton's gun control agenda.
Finding someone who could stake a claim as a pro-gunner and yet be willing to join McKelvey was not so easy. Enter Senator John McCain.
McCain's star was already falling with conservatives. He had carved out a niche as a 'maverick' as the author of so-called Campaign Finance Reform (more aptly named the incumbent protection act), which was anathema to conservatives but made him a darling of the mainstream media.
Gun owners were outraged over CFR, but McCain still maintained some credibility on the gun issue.
Earlier in his career, McCain had voted against the Clinton crime bill (which contained a ban on so-called assault weapons), and he did not join the 16 Senate Republicans who voted for the Brady bill, which required a five-day waiting period for the purchase of a handgun.
But as he ramped up for his presidential run in 2000, McCain, expanding on the 'maverick' theme, staked out a position on guns far to the left of his primary opponent, George W. Bush.
McCain began speaking out against small, inexpensive handguns and he entertained the idea of supporting the 'assault weapons' ban. His flirtation with anti-Second Amendment legislation quickly led to a political marriage of convenience with McKelvey.
Within months of the formation of AGS, McCain was featured in radio and television ads in Colorado and Oregon supporting initiatives to severely regulate gun shows and register gun buyers. Anti-gunners were ecstatic to get McCain on board.
Political consultant Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996, hoped McCain would "bring a conservative perspective to the gun debate."
The ads not only pushed the anti-gun show measure in those two states, they also served to undermine the efforts of gun rights activists who were furiously lobbying against the same type of bill in Congress.
"I think that if the Congress won't act, the least I can do is support the initiative in states where it's on the ballot," McCain said in an interview.
At the time still a newcomer to the gun control debate, McCain said, "I do believe my view has evolved."
McCain continued to pursue his anti-gun agenda even after his presidential run ended, and the next year he and McKelvey made it to the big screen.
As moviegoers flocked to see Pearl Harbor, they were treated to an anti-gun trailer ad featuring McCain. This time the Senator was pushing legislation to force people to keep firearms locked up in the home.
"We owe it to our children to be responsible by keeping our guns locked up," McCain told viewers.
Economist and author John Lott, Jr., noted, "No mention was ever made by McCain about using guns for self-defense or that gunlocks might make it difficult to stop intruders who break into your home. And research indicates that McCain's push for gunlocks is far more likely to lead to more deaths than it saves."
Also in 2001, McCain went from being a supporter of anti-gun bills to being a lead sponsor.
Pro-gun allies in Congress who were holding off gun show legislation -- which would at best register gun owners and at worst close down the shows entirely -- were angered when McCain teamed up with Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and introduced a "compromise" bill to give the issue momentum.
"There is a lot of frustration. He has got his own agenda," one Republican Senator told Roll Call.
After September 11, 2001, McKelvey and McCain, now joined by Lieberman, had a new angle to push gun control.
"Terrorists are exploiting the gun show loophole," AGS ads hyped. McCain and Lieberman hit the airwaves again in a series of radio and TV spots, thanks to McKelvey's multi-million dollar investment.
A Cox News Service article noted that, "The ads first focused on gun safety but switched to terrorism after Sept. 11. Americans for Gun Safety said the switch is legitimate."
However, Second Amendment expert Dave Kopel pointed out that, "the McCain-Lieberman bill is loaded with poison pills which would allow a single appointed official to prevent any gun show, anywhere in the United States from operating."
Ultimately, the anti-gun legislation was killed in the Congress and AGS fizzled out and disappeared altogether. The issues for which McKelvey spent over $10 million are still in play, however, and John McCain remains a supporter of those causes. In fact, as recently as 2004, McCain was able to force a vote on a gun show amendment.
In the post-Columbine and post-9/11 environments, the Second Amendment was under attack as never before. Pro-gun patriotic Americans who stood as a bulwark to keep the Congress from eviscerating the Constitution were dismayed to look across the battle lines only to see Senator McCain working with the enemy.
John McCain tried running for president in 2000 as an anti-gunner. This year it appears he is seeking to "come home" to the pro-gun community, but the wounds are deep and memories long


John McCains Liberal Voting Record


Obama to Get the Dems 'Barack' into the Business of Gun Control
by Erich Pratt, Director of Communications GOA

It sounded like a report from the National Enquirer. Dick Cheney and Barack Obama... cousins?
Say it ain't so, Mrs. Cheney.
But in fact, the Vice-President's wife revealed this bombshell in her recent book, Blue Skies, No Fences. According to Lynne Cheney, the current veep and the Illinois Democrat Senator, who wants to be the next president, are distant cousins -- eighth cousins, to be exact.1
When hit with this revelation, the Obama campaign took the news in stride, saying that, "Every family has a black sheep."2
All kidding aside, it's too bad that Dick Cheney and Barack Obama didn't do more shooting and target practice together in their youth, because today, they couldn't be more polar opposites when it comes to the Second Amendment.
Whereas one would be hard-pressed to find an anti-gun vote on Cheney's House record -- as he served the state of Wyoming for many years -- Obama's gun record is just simply atrocious.
Oh sure, Obama told Iowa radio listeners last year that he is a "strong believer" in the rights of hunters and sportsmen, and that homeowners should have a firearm "to protect their home and their family." But then in the next breath, he says, "It's hard for me to find a rationale for having a 17-clip semiautomatic [sic]."3
Good thing the ban on magazines that Obama supports was not in effect during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. That's when Korean merchants successfully used their semi-autos -- with large magazines containing multiple rounds -- to keep looters away from their stores. Their businesses remained standing, even while many others (which were left unprotected) burned to the ground.
Obama supports the existing gun control laws on the books. Nowhere in his literature or in his campaign speeches does he stake out a position in favor of repealing any gun control measure that has passed into law.
Not surprisingly, Obama supports the gun ban in the nation's capital, saying the "DC handgun law is constitutional."4 And he is opposed to people using guns for self-defense, when those guns are owned in localities like Washington, DC and Chicago where firearms are banned.
Illinois resident Hale DeMar was prosecuted by the town of Wilmette for using a handgun in his home to defend his family in 2003. Because Wilmette had imposed a ban on the possession of handguns, several Illinois state legislators introduced SB 2165 to protect the right of self-defense for residents like DeMar.
True to form, Obama voted against the pro-gun legislation.5
It is very telling that Obama moved further to the left than most of the liberal legislators in his state. The self-defense bill protecting gun owners like DeMar passed the state senate 41-16 and was later enacted into law over the governor's veto (and over Obama's opposition).
The concealed carry of firearms is another important issue for gun owners, and yet Obama is not only opposed to citizens carrying guns, he supports using federal laws to override those states which currently allow the practice.
In 2004, Obama said he supports a national ban on concealed carry because the states that allow it are "threatening the safety of Illinois residents."6 Never mind the fact that concealed carry laws have improved the safety of citizens in the states that have enacted such laws.7
Obama has also taken a strong position in favor of the Clinton semi-auto ban which sunset in 2004. "I believe we need to renew -- not roll back -- this common sense gun law," Obama said.8
Well, there's nothing that's "common sense" about the Clinton ban. Not only did it outlaw almost 200 types of firearms, legislators like Senator Chuck Schumer of New York tried to amend the law (before it sunset) to include additional types of semi-autos -- even banning classic (wood-stock) long guns such as the Remington shotgun which Senator John Kerry received as a gift during his 2004 presidential bid.9
Bottom line: Senator Obama may not be as gun ban-crazed as the infamous Chuck Schumer. He may not lay awake at night dreaming of ways to disarm honest gun owners. But sure enough, Obama is a committed anti-gunner.
The chart below lays out the key votes and positions that Sen. Obama has taken over the past few years.


Barack Obama's Gun-Related Votes
The U.S. Senate Debated:
ObamaVoted:
Supporting concealed carry for citizens10
Anti-gun
Banning many common semi-automatic firearms11
Anti-gun
Disallowing self-defense in towns where guns are banned12
Anti-gun
Imposing one handgun a month restrictions13
Anti-gun
Requiring lock up your safety trigger locks14
Anti-gun
Protecting gun dealers from frivolous lawsuits15
Anti-gun
Outlawing gun confiscations during a national emergency16
Pro-gun
Squelching the free speech rights of gun owners17
Anti-gun
Restricting the interstate sales of firearms18
Anti-gun
Repealing the gun ban in Washington, DC19
Anti-gun