Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Will Obama try to take away guns?

From The New American:
But despite the fact that Obama's recent pro-gun rhetoric is obviously blatantly false, should Americans worry that Obama will take away their firearms? In my opinion: not just yet. To even contemplate such an action, Obama would either have to be sure that he had nothing to lose (the be-all and end-all of most politicians' lives) or be sure that it would succeed with little political fallout for the Democratic Party. If nothing else, Obama is, after all, very politically savvy.

In recent years, attacking the Second Amendment has largely fallen out of favor at the federal level because the topic has been like kryptonite for most politicians: even approaching the subject leads to becoming a political dead duck in the next election (unless one hails from a big city and is immune). Obama would likely have trouble getting a gun-ban bill through even a Democrat-packed House.

That's not to say that all is roses on the gun front with Obama as commander in chief. As Obama tries to live up to his many very expensive campaign promises, he'll need to get the money to pay for his plans from somewhere, and a large tax increase on guns and ammunition is probable. Also, if Obama were to get reelected, it is conceivable that toward the end of his second term, he may be willing to expend the remainder of any political capital he has left in twisting Democrats arms to ban guns. Such a scenario could also play out toward the end of Obama's first term if he and fellow Democrats so ruin the economy that they stand little chance of getting a second term — there is one's legacy to look out for after all. Only time will tell, but for now, look for new taxes to come down the pipe — and maybe just stock up a little. [emphasis added]

Article here. Exorbitant taxation of guns and ammo may be the vehicle that Obama and his allies in the Democrat-controlled Congress choose to advance their anti-gun agenda, at least in the short term. As you may recall, this was the tactic used in the 1934 National Firearms Act to effectively restrict access to a whole class of firearms to everyone but the super-rich (at the time), criminals, and the government.

2 comments:

VinceRN said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
VinceRN said...

I am more worried than that. He was a director of the Joyce Foundation, and has spent a significant portion of his adult life campaigning for the complete ban of private ownership of firearms despite his campaign lies.

Remember, Obama stated that he would add "reasonable restrictions" to gun laws, and his frame of reference is Chicago, where it is all but illegal for a private citizen to own firearms. He thinks reasonable restriction need to be added to that. From what I have read of him, not jsut his campaign but his life prior to running for president, banning gun ownership will be one of the primary focii of his Presidency.

I fully expect to have the federal governement knock on my door and demanding that I surrender my guns before 2012.