What did Obama say about the DC Gun Ban?

After the Supreme Court handed down their ruling in Heller v. DC that found Washington, DC’s gun ban unconstitutional, Barack Obama released the following statement:

“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view, and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today’s ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.

As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen. I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Today’s decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe.”[1]

However, he agreed during a February 11, 2008 interview that he supported the DC gun ban. At that time, he believed it was constitutional.[2] In this same interview, Obama also he said believed that the Constitution provided individual municipalities with the power to regulate Constitutionally protected rights as they saw fit.[3] Mind you, he is a Constitutional Law trained lawyer and lecturer. A few days later, while campaigning in Idaho, Obama said the following:

“The notion that somehow local jurisdictions can’t initiate gun safety laws to deal with gang bangers and random shootings on the street isn’t born out by our Constitution.”[4]

Perhaps Obama is so comfortable with the DC Gun Ban because, as a state legislator in Illinois, he voted for the harshest restrictions against the Second Amendment. In short, these votes would effectively make nearly all gun shops illegal, while making it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from his residence and used to hurt another person if the weapon was not securely stored in that home.[5]

In short, Barack Obama is correct in saying he always believed in an individual’s right to bear arms.  He just thinks municipalities get to decide whether Americans get to exercise that right, and has consistently sided with cities that choose to take that right away.

Obama’s record and rhetoric show a history of supporting draconian gun control measures, including the Washington, DC gun ban.  Americans must ask themselves: Can we really afford to believe that a man who agreed that the manufacture, sale, and possession of handguns should be illegal [6] will stand up for their Second Amendment rights?

They will probably find that they can’t.

Sources:

[1] http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/06/mccain_reacts_to_scotus_gun_de.html
[2] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/06/on_gun_control_obama_has_a_dif.php
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wu9jE1MnAE
[4] http://www.volokh.com/posts/1203389334.shtml
[5] http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UQTAS80&show_article=1
[6] http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9269.html