Obama supports supreme court reversal of gun ban

guardian.co.uk ^ | 6/27/08 | Suzanne Goldenberg and Elana Schor

[melt]

· Candidate's stance at odds with former position

· Democrat backs death penalty for child rapist

Barack Obama intensified his campaign to appeal to voters on the life-and-death issues of the American heartland yesterday by stepping away from his past support for gun control.

In the latest in a series of policy reversals for the Democratic presidential candidate, Obama came out in support of yesterday's supreme court decision overturning a gun ban in the city of Washington that had been a model for fighting urban crime.

He had previously supported the Washington ban, the strictest in the US.

It was the second time in 24 hours that Obama had shifted towards a more conservative position. On Wednesday, he took issue with the supreme court for striking down the death penalty for cases of child rape that do not involve murder.

In yesterday's decision, judges struck down Washington's 32-year-old gun ban by a five-to-four margin, saying it was incompatible with the second amendment of the constitution. "Whatever the reason, handguns are the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defence in the home, and a complete prohibition of their use is invalid," the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia said. However, the judges defended the need for firearm bans in schools and public buildings.

Immediately after the ruling Obama and the Republican candidate, John McCain, both sought to exploit one of the most emotive political issues. McCain tried to revive charges that Obama was out of step with smalltown values. Obama ran into controversy last April for telling a fundraiser that Americans in small towns clung to guns and religion out of bitterness.

[Rome2000]

Obama lies. He will say anything to get elected.

Sounds like MYTH ROMNEY.

[Captain Kirk]

Cost him the election? Obama will win, probably in a landslide. That raving statist, luny McCain is doomed.

[Captain Kirk]

Obama voter? That looks more like a McCain voter. After all, wasn’t he the guy who traveled in the “straight Jacket” express in 2000.

[ken21]

look, mcdole was not my choice.

but, that’s all we got.

i am hopeful.

i think obama will trip and fall.

this is one issue. yes, white red necks voted for hillary, but do you

honestly think they’ll vote for a gun grabber?

[RasterMaster]

Could be a McCain voter, but it fits more with the LOONEY LEFT. I suppose if I was talking about a LIEberal, I'd have posted one of these photos instead:

We know what LIEberals mean when they claim to "support the war on terrorism"...

LIEberals leave no doubt about what they mean when they "support the troops"...

[Captain Kirk]

Nice try at a scare tactic but it won't work this time. Scare tactics won't be enough to put the looney pro-big government, high strung, old "maverick" in the White House. That critic of the first amendment, "obscene profits" and "greed" is a goner in November. BTW, your scare tactic is not even accurate this time.

Obama is not the "favorite candidate" of the LOONEY left. Their favorite is Nader who is scoring a relatively strong four percent.

[Captain Kirk]

If anyone is likely to “trip and fall,” on the stage it is the grumpy old man. Gun grabber? Which one? McCain not only supported the Brady Bill but also assault weapon’s ban.

[kennyboy509]

I thought there were going to be shots of obama with a duck!

I love those pictures!

[Jeff Head]

Obama is simply a liar and an abject panderer. He has proven so on this issue and many others and it becomes more obvious with each passing dauy.

Not to mention an anti-American militant and abject marxist.

THE AUDACITY OF TRUTH ABOUT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

[wastedyears]

He has some inconsistencies.

[Mr. Silverback]

If he supports it, why wouldn’t he join 50 of his fellow Senators in filing an amicus brief supporting the court’s current position?

[Southack]

Here's the briefest of timelines to show how far we've come:

2002: U.S. Under Bush, in a Shift From Past Administrations, Tells Justices That Citizens Have a Right to Guns

2007: In March, for the first time in the nation’s history, a federal appeals court struck down a gun control law on Second Amendment grounds. Only a few decades ago, the decision would have been unimaginable.

[Prole]

Call me crazy, but I think Hillary is going to somehow end up being the candidate.

She is just too sneaky and deceptive for me to think she is totally out of the race. And no, I don't think she will accept VP either. I think Obama doesn't know what to do with her.

Obama cannot pick Hillary as VP because her operatives will probably put a big bomb on his airplane or sprinkle some poison in his food or something, and he cannot ditch her becausee he needs her voting bloc to win.

Regardless, we are in for a wild ride for the DNC's Denver meeting in August.

[Salvation]

Another flip-flop?

[RasterMaster]

Scare tactic? I know it’s hard to comprehend when your head is so far buried up your backside, but maybe you missed your “mother ship” and don’t “GET IT”....I’m no fan of McLame and never have been.

In fact, I despise the man both personally and professionally. That said, you let me know when we have a CONSERVATIVE choice and I’ll be more than happy to vote for him (voted for Duncan Hunter even though he’d dropped the week before), that is when the RINOs aren’t pushing a FRaud Thompson, Rudy McRomney candidate. The left is pushing a terrorist-appeasing communist, so thanks for letting me know who you support.

Meanwhile, I’ve come to the conclusion I do with EVERY election....not one of them meets my “standards”, yet I must vote for one or the other and it will NEVER be the candidate who sides with the JACKASS party. As much as it sucks to be fighting my own “side”, I’d rather that than submit to a terroist-appeasing muslim scum of the earth.

[XR7]

I've always said whatever the Supreme Court says is fine with me!

[shadowgovernment]

“He has some inconsistencies.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>...................
Fits for both candidates rather well..

voting this year will be hard on those who call themselves

a “Conservative”

give up all your values quick or give up a thousand small cuts- the result is the same, only, with one you suffer longer.

[southlake_hoosier]

Someone needs an Illinois ping here. The word should get out across that whole state. Illinois is one of the biggest anti-gun states in the Union. This would be going against the Daily-Blago-Maddigan rules for Illinois.

Although behind the scenes he has probably told all the Illinois Democrats he is just saying that because it is politics, and that he really wants a gun ban.

Then again, the people in Illinois were dumb enough to vote this guy in the Senate so maybe they don't really care what he says.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

“overturning a gun ban in the city of Washington that had been a model for fighting urban crime”

Really?!

[Darkwolf377]

The REAL story of this political season is how Obama is perfectly free to lie like this, and his Dem supporters KNOW it's BS but are shutting up just to get him in the WH.

If Chris Mattews and the other "political reporters" weren't just DNC spokesmodels, they would be reporting on this as a HUGE story. The dems have FINALLY all gotten together on this. But of course, the "unbiased" press aren't reporting on a nationwide pact to STFU for a political cause.