NYT editorial: The Gun Lobby’s Loss

[DeepModem Mom]

The Gun Lobby’s Loss
Published: December 1, 2008

The gun lobby has long intimidated politicians with its war chest and its trumpeted ability to deliver single-issue voters, especially in tight races. After this year’s election, those politicians should be far less afraid and far more willing to vote for sensible gun-control laws.

The National Rifle Association directed much money and bile against Barack Obama. In false, misleading and, fortunately, ineffective ads, fliers, mailers and Web postings, the group said that Mr. Obama posed a “clear and present danger” to Second Amendment rights and that his election would mean a gun ban. Despite that harsh barrage, Mr. Obama won states with heavy gun ownership, including Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. That success should send a signal to other politicians: consistency matters.

In fact, Mr. Obama has long been a supporter of the argument, disputed by this page, that the Second Amendment bestows an individual right to bear arms unrelated to raising a militia. But Mr. Obama did not abandon his support for reasonable gun-control laws. “Don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals,” he declared at the Democratic convention.

In Congressional races, the N.R.A. endorsed candidates in 20 of the 25 races where Democrats picked up seats from Republicans....On the Senate side, the N.R.A. spent considerable sums to help Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Bob Schaffer, the Republican Senate candidate in Colorado. Both were defeated. And the N.R.A.’s poor showing was not just a single isolated event. A useful election analysis prepared by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence shows that its 2006 campaign effort also was a big flop.

We hope the trend continues....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/opinion/02tue3.html

[w4rma]

1. I just hope Democrats don't pull a stupid like Clinton did and try to run on more gun-control. (nt)

[Enthusiast]

3. I am a gun owning Obama supporter. nt

[Mojorabbit]

2. I don't think they are right

I know a whole lot of gun owners who voted for Obama because they took him at his word he respected the second amendment and they just could not vote republican this time.

[old mark]

5. I am a lifelong Democrat, and a shooter for over 50 years.

I am in favor criminals not having guns, where I get angry is when the anti's equate all gun owners with criminals.

mark

[spin]

4. Prior to this election McCain didn't have a high NRA rating...

I believe that in 2004 he had a c+ rating.

And here's something interesting from Pat Williams, former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives

The urge to blame President-elect Obama is a transparent example of how utterly partisan the gun groups and far too many of their adherents have become.

Sen. John McCain, not Barack Obama, is the person with the congressional record of voting for gun control. McCain is for registration at gun shows, supported a ban on assault weapons and, prior to his run for the presidency, was working with his friend Joe Lieberman to mandate trigger locks and close the gun show loophole.

Obama's votes in the Illinois legislature have also somewhat favored gun control, but it is McCain not Obama who cast the pro-gun control votes in the Congress.

So, why don't more gun owners understand what is really happening?
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20081113/OPINION/811130307

Well maybe gun owners did understand that McCain wasn't their friend and would sell them out faster than Obama.

Also it should be pointed out that gun control was not a big issue in this campaign. Had Obama made statements that he was for draconian gun control laws, the election results might have favored the Republicans.

But if the Democratic Congress and Obama do push for strong gun control laws, you can expect the gun owners to rally behind the Republican flag and show up at the polls again.

Since gun control measures such as the Assault Weapons Ban proved total failures and cost the Democratic Party dearly, I hope future gun control laws will be focused on taking illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. Honest, responsible citizens and the weapons they own are not the problem- Criminals and drug gangs are.