Election 2008 and the Second Amendment

As we close in on election time, it's useful to examine what the candidates are saying about the Second Amendment. We've already seen that, despite the Supreme Court's narrow ruling in favor of an individual's right to keep and bear working arms in the home for self-protection (see DC v. Heller), leaders are continuing to defy the Constitution and act as petty dictators. For example, both Fenty of Washington, DC, and Daley of Chicago are fighting the ruling--and the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights--and making and enforcing rules and laws that are clearly illegal. They have rejected our founders' and framers' wisdom in favor of their own misguided agenda.

The 5-4 decision favoring Heller should have been unanimous, if the justices were all doing their jobs. Instead, 4 of them chose to toss our heritage to the wind in favor of enabling dictators to operate at all levels of U.S. government.

Amazingly, Barack Obama and Joe Biden continue to support infringing our rights and seek to undermine our right to keep and bear arms. Biden brags that he was an innovator in abridging rights: He actually pushed to ban what today are the most popular sporting rifles in the world before Clinton picked up on it in 1994. Although the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban" was an abject failure--and unconstitutional, both Obama and Biden want to reinstate it and make it permanent.

John McCain and Sarah Palin both support our Second Amendment rights, and trust the people to act responsibly with respect to firearms. Rather than layer on more unenforceable laws that do nothing to stop criminals and only burden and/or abridge rights of the law-abiding, they seek to make sure we retain our right to self-protection.

Self-defense is one of the most basic drives in life. It is a natural right, that comes from our 'Creator,' however one interprets that term. Please go to the polls in November and vote your conscience. For educational purposes, here are brief excerpts from the Obama and McCain election websites:

Obama (http://www.barackobama.com/issues/urbanpolicy/#crime-and-law-enforcement)
"As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment ... Obama also favors commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. He supports closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. He also supports making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent ..."

McCain (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/77636553-6337-4ecd-b170-49e1c07d2fbd.htm)
"John McCain believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect. We have a responsibility to ensure that criminals who violate the law are prosecuted to the fullest, rather than restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime. Law abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their rights because of criminals - criminals who ignore gun control laws anyway. ..."