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US Democrat's positions on gun control, gun rights
Big-city Mayors Defend Chicago's Handgun Ban in US Supreme Court
22 January 2010
Chicago Sun-Times
WASHINGTON -- Mayor Daley revved up a coalition of mayors Thursday to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Chicago's handgun ordinance in the wake of the Illinois State Rifle Association challenge to be argued March 2.
Here for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Daley also went to the White House with other mayors for a session with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. And in his role as the "mayor of mayors," he also hosted a reception for... (GunPolicy.org)
Don't Expect US Deal with Mexico on Assault Weapon Ban - CNN Analysis
16 April 2009
CNN
President Obama visits Mexico with many issues on the table, but reinstating the ban on assault weapons in the U.S. isn't likely to be one on which the two countries can reach agreement.
Mexican officials say criminals use assault weapons from the U.S. in the violent border region.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., say reinstating the ban would stop the deadly flow of weapons across the border.
Under the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Democrats Join Gun Lobby to Ensure Gun Control Laws Go Nowhere
9 April 2009
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
The fatal shootings in Binghamton, N.Y., and Stanton Heights prompted renewed calls for stricter gun control from traditional advocates such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But such calls haven't echoed in the halls of Congress or in statehouses across the country.
"The silence has been deafening," Dennis Goldford, a Drake University political scientist, said of federal lawmakers' response to the new incidents of gun... (GunPolicy.org)
'Crocodile Tears, Platitudes' from US Leaders, But No Law to Curb Guns
6 April 2009
Australian (Sydney)
NEW YORK — The anguish in Joe Biden's voice sounded genuine when the US Vice-President responded on behalf of the White House to the shocking gun massacre of 14 people at the New York town of Binghamton on the weekend.
"We've got to find a way to deal with this senseless, senseless violence," Biden told the nation.
Arriving at Binghamton that evening, New York Governor David Paterson framed similar sentiments in a question: "When are we going to be able to curb the... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's 'Drug Czar' Aims to Choke Flood of US Guns to Mexican Cartels
11 March 2009
Reuters
PHOENIX — U.S. border police have arrested four men and seized three shipments of guns, ammunition and weapons parts bound for Mexico, authorities said on Wednesday, weapons that would likely have been used by warring drug cartels.
U.S. and Mexican authorities are working closely to curb the illegal trade in arms to Mexico, where more than 7,000 people have been murdered by the cartels since the start of last year.
The Department of Homeland Security said border... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Permits Up 79% in Georgia: NRA Campaign, Fear of Obama Cited
31 January 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia)
On the morning after the presidential inauguration, Sean Ely was in Cobb County Probate Court to apply for his first concealed weapons permit.
The Acworth builder had read that it might become harder to get a permit during the Obama administration.
"I figured I'd get it while I can," Ely said.
Adrian Brown, an EMT student from Austell, was at the court office minutes later to do the same thing but for a different reason.
"I want to protect my family," said Brown,... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Prompted 'Frightened Consumers' to Buy More Guns - 2008 Data
16 January 2009
Fox News (USA)
President-elect Barack Obama's election has spurred a surge in gun sales, firearms retailers and enthusiasts say, as gun owners brace for what they believe will be a new era of gun control in Washington.
An electronic news service that covers outdoor news has even named Obama its "Gun Salesman of the Year."
Firearms associations began to suspect that political considerations were driving gun sales late last year as the number of background checks increased. But... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's Judges 'Could Easily Reverse' Supreme Court Gun Decision
12 January 2009
Fox News (USA), Opinion
Despite a huge Democratic Senate majority, Eric Holder's confirmation hearings are going to be difficult. He has a long record to defend. Whether it is his involvement and inconsistent statements about Bill Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich's or his pushing Clinton's clemency of the FALN terrorists or his failure to disclose his work for troubled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich after Blagojevich's legal problems surfaced, he faces tough questions.
But... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama 'Salesman of the Month' as US Gun Industry Whips Up Fear Sales
16 November 2008
San Diego Union-Tribune (California)
The economy may be in the tank, but business has never been better at the El Cajon Gun Exchange.
Semiautomatic rifles, handguns and short-barreled shotguns are moving off the shelves and into the hands of customers who share widespread fears that President-elect Barack Obama will restrict their right to own a gun.
"Obama is the salesman of the month," said store owner Louis Baldridge.
Bryan Watters, a Lakeside customer who followed the election rhetoric closely,... (GunPolicy.org)
American Reporters 'Spook Readers' with Gun Sale Exaggerations
13 November 2008
Slate (USA)
Firearms scare almost everybody. But no demographic gets more wiggy about handguns, shotguns, and rifles than journalists. Ever since the Washington Post ("Gun Sales Thriving in Uncertain Times," Oct. 27) put the idea into circulation that the election and economic turmoil were spurring an increase in gun and ammo sales, a score of other news outlets have published their takes on the topic.
The Salt Lake Tribune got there on Nov. 6 ("Election Triggers Upsurge in... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Sales Up 14% as 'Suspicious Gun Lovers' Show Fear of Obama
10 November 2008
Irish Times
CHANTILLY, Virginia — Earl Curtis's staff in the Blue Ridge Arsenal gunshop hurried to and fro on a Saturday afternoon coping with the rush of customers that has emerged in recent weeks since people realised that Barack Obama was heading to the White House.
"The rush started about three weeks ago, and it hasn't stopped," Curtis tells The Irish Times . "People are afraid that we are about to go back to the days of the Clintons, except that it will be worse."
The same... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners 'Afraid of Obama,' Rushing to Buy Assault Weapons
8 November 2008
Reuters
PHOENIX — Sales of rifles, pistols and ammo are surging in parts of the United States, as many gun owners fear President-elect Barack Obama's administration may seek to tighten ownership of certain weapons.
"The day after the election, I had many more calls than usual from people looking for semi-automatic rifles," said David Greenberg, the owner of the Second Amendment Family Gun Shop, in Bisbee, Arizona, who sold out of AR-15 rifles in recent days.
"There seems to... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama 'Favoured Every Gun Restriction That Came Along in Illinois'
22 October 2008
Gazette (Colorado Springs), Editorial
Brilliantly, Democrats have kept the issue of guns out of the presidential campaign. Guns have barely been mentioned, with the exception of Barack Obama's gaffe about rubes clinging to Bibles and guns, his cautious support of the Supreme Court's Heller decision, and pop culture references to GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin killing moose.
Democrats have long been on the losing end of the gun-rights debate, which has cost them countless elections.
Quietly,... (GunPolicy.org)
Biden, Obama on Gun Registration, Assault Weapons, Hidden Handguns
18 October 2008
Nevada Appeal
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware said Friday that Nevadans shouldn't listen to claims he and Barack Obama would take away the right to bear arms.
"I get a kick out of, sometimes, the NRA saying we're going to take your shotguns away," he said in a telephone interview with the Nevada Appeal. "I've got three shotguns, although my son thinks one of them, the over-under, is his."
"Both of us believe strongly in the Second Amendment," Biden said.... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Rights an Election Issue for Number of Alaskans
15 October 2008
Daily News-Miner (Alaska)
WASHINGTON — With the Nov. 4 election fast approaching, Alaskans are taking a close look at where the major-party presidential contenders stand on gun control and Second Amendment rights.
The right to bear arms has been front and center in the presidential race, thanks in no small part to the presence of Gov. Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket.
Palin has played up her hunting credentials and been an outspoken supporter of the Second Amendment, which reads "A well... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain: 'No Gun Control.' Obama: 'I Will Not Take Your Guns Away'
15 October 2008
Associated Press
BOSTON — John McCain supports background checks for buyers at gun shows and has his name on a law restricting special-interest group advertising, two positions strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association.
So how'd he end up with the group's presidential endorsement? By running against Barack Obama, whom NRA leaders accuse of wanting to put the firearms industry out of business.
"Hillary was right: You can't trust Obama with your guns," the association's... (GunPolicy.org)
American Opponents of Gun Violence Endorse Obama for President
13 October 2008
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the endorsement Monday of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The group is named after Jim Brady, the press secretary to former President Reagan, who was gravely wounded by a gunman who tried to assassinate Reagan in 1981.
Paul Helmke, the organization's president, said Obama and Biden would strengthen background checks on gun purchasers, get assault weapons off the streets and give law enforcement more tools to... (GunPolicy.org)
Largest US Gun Control Group Endorses Barack Obama for President
13 October 2008
Boston Globe / Political Intelligence
John McCain has backing from the National Rifle Association. Today, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence threw its support to Barack Obama.
"Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden know that we make it too easy for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons in this country," Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, said in a statement. "They know that our weak gun laws have too many loopholes, which lead to over 30,000 deaths and 70,000 injuries from guns... (GunPolicy.org)
Wyoming Governor Stumps for Obama Among Pennsylvania Hunters
7 October 2008
Daily American (Pennsylvania)
Wyoming Gov. David D. Freudenthal will be stopping in Somerset today to talk with sportsmen about Sen. Barack Obama's views on gun rights.
The stop is one of four on a tour of small towns in western Pennsylvania sponsored by the Obama campaign. Freudenthal will also be speaking to voters in Grindstone, McDonald and Tarentum.
Allison Price, Obama spokeswoman, said both Obama and Sen. Joe Biden believe the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms.
"They will... (GunPolicy.org)
US NRA Launches $40 Million Campaign to Defeat Obama on Guns
24 September 2008
CBS News (USA)
The defining moment in the National Rifle Association's eight-figure advertising offensive against Barack Obama takes place about 15 seconds into a new spot featuring Karl Rusch, a white, middle aged Virginian clad in hunting gear.
After claiming that Obama supports "a huge new tax on my guns and ammo," Rusch closes the door of his truck and turns directly to the camera.
"Where is this guy from?" he asks. "He's probably never been hunting a day in his life."
The... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Gun Lobby Spending '8 Figures' on TV Ads Opposing Obama
23 September 2008
Washington Post / The Trail, Web Page
The National Rifle Association is likely to spend "in the eight figure range" on radio and television advertisements in the next 42 days as part of its efforts to deter undecided voters from voting for Barack Obama, according to an NRA spokesman. The group will air a series of ads starring group members that openly question Obama's commitment to protecting gun rights. Ads will air on radio stations and during local cable television ad breaks in Colorado and New Mexico... (GunPolicy.org)
American Gun Lobby Fires Away at Obama-Biden on Cable TV, Radio
22 September 2008
ABC News (USA) / Political Punch, Blog
"Defend freedom," urges the National Rifle Association's new TV and radio ad campaign. "Defeat Obama."
The powerful gun owners' lobby today announced it is firing away at the Democratic presidential candidate with a cache of TV and radio ads in New Mexico, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.
The ads will run on cable TV in all three battleground states: CMT, CNN, DISC, ESPN, ESPN, ESPN News, ESX, FXNC, GOLFm HIST, MIL, NFL, Outdoor Channel, Speed, Spike, TBS, TNT, TWC, and... (GunPolicy.org)
Pistol Packing, Shooting Are 'The Way of Life' to Arizona Gun Club Women
15 September 2008
BBC News / Talking America
Carol Ruh cried the first time that she held a gun. Visiting a shooting range in Arizona while on holiday with her husband, her anti-firearms views made the trip an upsetting experience.
But after she told the staff of her discomfort, she underwent an epiphany.
"It was one of those life-defining moments," she recalled. "The gentleman behind the counter said: 'It's not the gun that kills, it's the person behind it.' And that made a lot of sense to me.
"If your heart... (GunPolicy.org)
Palin 'Best Ammo' for US Gun Lobby; NRA Pledges $40m to Elect McCain
4 September 2008
National Journal (USA)
By now, millions of Americans have seen photos of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin testing weapons while visiting members of the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait.
But it wouldn't be surprising if millions more in battleground states get to see similar pictures soon — plus appearances by Palin herself — in states where gun rights are a big issue, courtesy of the National Rifle Association's fat $40 million budget for this year's elections and parallel plans by... (GunPolicy.org)
Sarah Palin Brings God, Guns, Anti-abortion Views to McCain Campaign
1 September 2008
Reuters
Conservative Republican prayers for the November 4 presidential election may have been answered.
John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate sends a clear message to the party's conservative religious base: God and guns are on the ticket.
Conservative Christians and analysts say the 44-year-old devout born-again evangelical and mother of five has the "right stuff" to energize this base, from her staunch opposition to abortion... (GunPolicy.org)
Visiting Columbine High: Gun Control Now a Silenced Issue in America
29 August 2008
National Post (Toronto)
The long, low halls of Columbine High School are lined with blue lockers and crimson history, decked with hand-drawn posters for Bible Study and the Knitting Club, cruised by laughing teens in Hollister and Aeropostale, then eerily silent when the classroom doors swing closed. We are nine years removed from the mass murder-suicide that happened here, and 10 miles south of a national political gathering at which the quieting of America's guns has never been... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's Running Mate Touts Gun Control, Can Be Blunt to Gun Owners
25 August 2008
Politico (Washington, DC), Web Page
DENVER — It was on July 23 last year in Charleston, S.C., that Joe Biden really showed what he is made of.
It was at a Democratic debate — one of approximately 700 or 800, as I recall — that was sponsored by CNN, Google and YouTube.
Via a video clip, a man identifying himself as Jered Townsend from Clio, Mich., said: "To all the candidates, tell me your position on gun control, as myself and other Americans really want to know if our babies are safe."
Then... (GunPolicy.org)
US Experts Fear Growing Gun Death Rate Among Black Male Teens
9 June 2008
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Both violent and property crimes declined in 2007 from the previous year, the FBI reported Monday. But one expert warned the figures could mask rising murder rates among young black men.
In preliminary figures for crimes reported to police, the bureau said the number of violent crimes declined by 1.4 percent from 2006, reversing two years of rising violent crime numbers. Violent crime had climbed 1.9 percent in 2006 and 2.3 percent in 2005, alarming... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Caribbean,Central America,South America
US Senate Stalls Hemispheric Arms Control in the Americas - NACLA Report
19 March 2008
NACLA Report on the Americas Vol. 41, No. 2
In 1997, President Bill Clinton, standing beside Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo in the Organization of American States' flag-bedecked Hall of the Americas, declared: "Gun trafficking is an issue of national security for our governments, and a matter of neighborhood security for all of us in the Americas." The presidents had joined together to sign an OAS treaty known as the Firearms Convention, or by its Spanish initials as CIFTA, designed to end the illicit... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Are Military Guns OK'd for Public, Asks US Gun Control Advocate
7 December 2007
Des Moines Register (Iowa)
Iowans should press presidential candidates for their views on assault weapons in light of Wednesday's shopping-mall massacre in Omaha, a national gun-control advocate said Thursday.
Most Democratic candidates support reinstating a federal assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004.
Most Republican candidates oppose reinstating the ban, saying it was ineffective.
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Thursday that the 30-round... (GunPolicy.org)
US Election Candidates 'Dance on Eggshells' Over Gun Control
23 October 2007
Des Moines Register (Iowa)
Brian Halterman is keeping an eye on how presidential candidates answer gun control questions.
Halterman, a 39-year-old rural Keokuk resident, has noticed the issue has not taken center stage as it had in previous elections, and that is a concern to him.
"For me, it's a fairly large issue," Halterman said, just moments before an appearance of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson this month in Fort Madison. "I collect antique weapons, and I believe I have... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby's YouTube Hero Shows Off His 'Baby' - An Assault Weapon
25 July 2007
Detroit Free Press
CLIO, Michigan — Jered Townsend is a single, 30-year-old gun enthusiast who lives north of Flint on a rural road with his parents and his baby.
Well, "baby" is his way of putting it. He doesn't have children.
As America learned Monday in a nationally televised debate featuring Democratic presidential candidates, Townsend's baby is a Bushmaster AR15 semiautomatic rifle, all black and polished and pretty.
He does like his weapons.
Townsend brandished his rifle in a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Campus Killing Did Little If Anything to Change Positions on Gun Control
14 May 2007
Miami Herald
The second in an occasional series about the presidential candidates' views on issues important to Florida.
In his first trip to Florida as a presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney went to a gun show.
The former governor of Massachusetts chatted up corporate executives and mom-and-pop dealers in Orlando at the gun industry's annual trade exhibition, the largest showcase in the world for weapons ranging from black-powder muskets to semiautomatic rifles.
But... (GunPolicy.org)
Democrats, US Congress Fear 'Gun Lobby's Well-practiced Demagoguery'
10 May 2007
New York Times, Editorial
The tragedy of our runaway gun culture can only deepen now that it's clear the new Democratic Congress operates in fear of the gun lobby's well-practiced demagoguery and rich campaign treasury. A collective silence descended on the Capitol after the pro forma expressions of outrage over the Virginia Tech gun massacre.
Truly responsible lawmakers would put political survival on hold and shut two of the most lethal loopholes in gun control created by the... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns in American Homes Create More Risk Than Safety
28 April 2007
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), Column
It seemed like a curious question to pose to a presidential candidate. But given current events, it wasn't totally irrelevant.
During last week's debate among Democratic candidates for president, NBC News anchor Brian Williams asked for a show of hands:
How many had ever kept a gun in their home?
After the massacre of 32 innocent people at Virginia Tech University by a deranged gunman, it seemed like a timely — albeit "loaded" — question for the men and woman... (GunPolicy.org)
Positions of the American Presidential Candidates on Gun Control - AP List
18 April 2007
Associated Press
Gun-control efforts in recent years have focused on renewing a federal ban on assault-type weapons that expired in 2004 and requiring background checks for buyers at gun shows. Those efforts have fallen short. Gun-rights advocates prevailed with a law shielding gun-makers and dealers from civil lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence.
A look at positions and records of the presidential candidates on gun control:
DEMOCRATS:
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: Voted for ban... (GunPolicy.org)
Incoming US Democrats Include a Who's Who of the Gun Control Movement
18 November 2006
Washington Times, Editorial
The incoming Democratic powers-that-be in the congressional leadership and on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees are a who's who of the gun-control movement: Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Patrick Leahy, John Conyers, Dick Durbin, Joseph Biden, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and Herb Kohl, to name a few. If and when gun control roars back to life in 2007-08 — we expect that it will — the data unearthed this week in these lawmakers' own backyards by reporter Matthew... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control, Pro-gun Groups Both Put Best Possible Spin on Election
9 November 2006
CNS News (USA)
The midterm election may have been a referendum on the president, war, corruption, and scandal, but "it does not translate into greater support for gun control at the grass roots level," says a gun lobby group.
"If anything, gun control was notable as a non-issue in this election," said Gun Owners of America in a news release.
A leading gun control group, however, says quite the contrary: "In this election, the gun issue was in play, gun violence prevention groups won... (GunPolicy.org)
Terror Suspects Bought Guns in US, Says Govt Accountability Office
8 March 2005
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — More than 40 terror suspects were able to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks showed they had no felony convictions and weren't illegal immigrants, according to a government report released Tuesday.
Gun control advocates cited the Government Accountability Office's study, "Gun Control and Terrorism," as evidence that stricter laws are needed to prevent terror suspects from buying firearms. The GAO said the FBI could do a... (GunPolicy.org)
End Dems Anti-Gun Jihad
5 April 2002
Denver Post (Colorado), Opinion
In recent months, Democratic Party leaders have struggled to overcome what they contend is a negative stereotype, created by the GOP, that paints all Democrats as gun-control extremists.
Having worked with many Democrats over the years, we can say for the record that not all members of the party are extremists on the gun issue — just their leaders. So long as the party elevates the likes of Charles Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy, Dick Gephardt, Joe Biden,... (GunPolicy.org)
Frequency of Domestic Homicide Falls
29 October 2001
Los Angeles Times
Back when Los Angeles Police Det. Pat Barron was a patrol officer, he had a standard tactic for separating abusive spouses.
He would make a solemn face, mumble something about the power vested in him by the state, then declare a 48-hour divorce. It even worked sometimes.
Today, Barron laughs at the memory, so at odds with modern practices. Changes in the social, political and legal environment concerning domestic violence have been profound, transforming law... (GunPolicy.org)
Senate Bill Would Allow Pilots to Carry Guns
11 October 2001
Reuters
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to strengthen aviation security-including a provision that would allow pilots to carry guns-as it tries to prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The measure would also require government employees to take over baggage screening and authorize the government to put an armed air marshal on every flight to prevent hijackers from taking over aircraft and using them as missiles, as they did on the... (GunPolicy.org)
Spirit of Bipartisanship Grinds to a Halt in Chavez Aftermath
11 January 2001
Knight Ridder / Tribune (USA)
WASHINGTON — With one down and at least two bruising fights to go, the battle over President-elect George W. Bush's Cabinet appointments is threatening to renew partisan warfare even before the new president takes office.
Tuesday's sudden exit of Linda Chavez as labor secretary-designate inflamed conservatives, consolidated liberals and set up John Ashcroft's nomination for attorney general as the next round of partisan trench warfare in a Senate evenly split between... (GunPolicy.org)
Democratic Groups Form Anti-Ashcroft Coalition
9 January 2001
ABC News (USA)
A coalition of Democrat-leaning interest groups has launched a campaign to torpedo President-elect George W. Bush's nomination of former Sen. John Ashcroft as attorney general.
Two hundred Democratic-leaning organizations have formed a coalition against John Ashcroft, promising to fight tooth and nail against the confirmation of President-elect Bush's nominee for attorney general. When Bush made Ashcroft, a former senator from Missouri and one of the body's most... (GunPolicy.org)
