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| 10/31/2008 4:23:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | NRA misrepresents, distorts Sen. Obama's record on guns
 | John Aldridge
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As a life member of the National Rifle Association and as a hunter and competition shooter since junior high school, I believe strongly in protecting our Second Amendment right to bear arms.
I am also a retired Marine who remains a passionate devotee of government according to the U.S. Constitution I was sworn to uphold and defend.
Frankly, I am disappointed by the NRA's orchestrated attacks on Sen. Barack Obama and by the deliberate distortion of his positions concerning gun ownership.
I believe that sportsmen who really examine the facts and who sift out the propaganda will agree.
Gun ownership is not a one-size-fits-all issue. In cities like Milwaukee and Chicago, we need to get control of gun crime and make our city streets safe for those who live there.
In fact, many of us choose to live in the tranquility of the Northwoods, in part because we do not want to subject ourselves or our children, to the violent crime that is too often part of the urban landscape.
Interestingly, both the NRA and Sen. Obama support action in inner cities that cracks down on criminals and gun crime. The NRA has lent very vocal support to Project Exile in Richmond, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
The Exile projects are law enforcement programs that rigorously enforce existing laws against criminals with guns. If a felon is convicted of a crime while in possession of a firearm, he or she faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison. Since the inception of the Exile Program, Richmond reported a 40 percent reduction in crime. This is the kind of smart gun control that we need, and Sen. Obama has said he supports such action.
To criticize a record that is based on Sen. Obama's legislative positions when he was a young Illinois State Senator representing an area of Chicago desperate to reduce gun violence, then twisting it to mean that he does not support hunter's rights, is not only misleading, it is simply wrong.
In reality, there is no conflict between Sen. Obama's stated position and NRA's stated policies.
In a January 2008 debate, Sen. Obama said, "We essentially have two realities when it comes to guns in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. Then you've got the reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago. We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets."
Further evidence of Sen. Obama's commitment to the Second Amendment is found in his comments following the Supreme Court decision in "D.C. v Heller." In this case, the Court held that the Constitution confers an individual's right to bear arms and that right is intimately tied to the natural right of self- defense.
It also acknowledged this right is subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. In response to Justice Scalia's majority opinion, Sen. Obama said, "Today's decision reinforces the fact that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe."
The online watchdog FactCheck.org, a non-partisan organization that monitors all major political candidates and politically motivated groups for deceptive practices, wrote of the NRA's campaign against Sen. Obama, "A National Rifle Association advertising campaign distorts Obama's position on gun control beyond recognition." They added, "And we find the NRA has cherry-picked, twisted and misrepresented Obama's record ..."
The bottom line is this: neither Sen. McCain nor Sen. Obama will take away our guns or our ammunition.
Period.
I believe levelheaded sportsmen and women know this. However, there is one candidate who has a clearer grasp of the Constitution and the best solutions to solve our crucial economic, energy, and international problems.
That candidate is Barack Obama.
I intend to vote for him on Nov. 4.
John Aldridge is a resident of Boulder Junction.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Article comment by:
Rick W
I too am a Marine but not a jarhead!
BO's record speaks for itself, we will see the results of his election will mean to gun owner rights.
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
John Aldridge
In re: comment by DDS -- NRA Life Member - Your description of the 2nd amendment and that of Justice Scalia writing for the majority of the Supreme Court are different - The Supreme Court did find that there is an individual right (THANK GOD) - but that it was subject to reasonable restrictions - read the court opinion before jumping off the 2nd amendment cliff.
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
John Aldridge
In re: comments by Grey, Kore and Casillas.
I did my recon. I quoted from the Supreme Court decision on guns in Washington DC. And, yes, you can’t legislate behavior - I was born in DC. They had a restrictive of handgun ban for decades – and it did no good. I also agree you must get control of criminals to reduce gun violence. That’s why I researched Project Exile – it was endorsed by both the NRA and the Brady bunch. It worked. The data is there. In 15 minutes alone with Jim Doyle at a fundraiser, I complained about one of his legislative proposals to reduce gun violence in Milwaukee. I went to bat for our freedoms at the top. Have you done that? We agreed that Milwaukee already had done a lot by putting foot patrols in hot city areas. Stronger enforcement works – let’s agree on that.
Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Peter Liakopoulos
Mr. Aldridge,
You should be a shamed of yourself. As a former resident of Chicago, I have seen first hand the results of their gun control laws. Law biding citizens get robbed and mugged and criminals go free. Its funny I now live in Nevada and Las Vegas has over 2,000,000 people live there. Las Vegas like the rest of Nevada allows concealed carry. Guess what no where near the crime rate of Chicago or New York. In 2007 more people died on the streets of Chicago due to violate crimes than we lost in Iraq. So who is distorting the truth. You sir are the problem with this nation.
Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Article comment by:
grey ressarg
hey Aldridge! Do you ever bother to read Obama's votes on gun control? I expect better recon from a fellow jarhead,10th mnt.
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