Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

President`s Column: A True Threat To Freedom

Friday, May 16, 2008

Right now, one of the most anti-gun politicians ever to set foot in Washington, D.C., may be just one election away from the Oval Office, and far too few gun owners realize the true threat to freedom this candidate represents.

No, it’s not Hillary Clinton, we already know how bad she is. It’s Senator Barack H. Obama, D-Ill., the man who promises “change” while pretending to offer “hope.” But exactly what kind of “change” is Obama “hoping” for?

It is far too easy for gun owners to slip into a false sense of security, unquestioningly accepting the candidate’s promises and proclamations regarding the Second Amendment; but the unreported truth is that Barack Obama has an atrocious record on your most fundamental civil right: the right to a firearm for self-defense.

Over the years, Barack Obama has either voiced support for, or voted to enact, laws to:

  • ban all handguns
  • ban the sale or transfer of all semi-automatic firearms
  • ban the Right-to-Carry in every state, nationwide
  • ban firearms in the home, even for self-protection

And he voted against a “self-defense exception,” which absolves folks of violating gun bans when their reason for violating those bans is to fend off criminal attack in the home.

Go to Obama’s website and you’ll see his claims of respect for your rights, claims which are, at best, misleading.

Obama’s website claims, “He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting.”

But as the bumper sticker says "The Second Amendment ain`t about duck hunting.”

In 1996, Obama‘s Illinois state senate campaign answered a questionnaire indicating his support for a blanket ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns in Illinois.

In 2000, Obama sponsored a “one-gun-a-month” law to ration the Second Amendment rights of the law-abiding citizens of Illinois.

Obama has supported bans on ammunition magazines, gun-lock mandates, renewal of the 1994 Clinton gun ban and California-style gun registration. He voted against confirmation of both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito for the U.S. Supreme Court, and then refused to sign the pro-gun “friend-of-the-court” brief filed by 55 other senators and 250 House members in the District of Columbia v. Heller gun ban case.

In July 2005, Obama voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a vote against the rights of every law-abiding gun owner, dealer and manufacturer in America, and a vote against our national defense.

Obama even proposed a federal law banning licensed firearm dealers from operating within five miles of any school or park, nationwide! Imagine a map with a five-mile circle drawn around every school and park in the United States. Unless you live in the wilderness interior of Alaska, you probably couldn’t find a law-abiding gun dealer anywhere under Obama’s ban!

Yet, while Obama’s disdain for Second Amendment freedom appears limitless, his attitude toward armed, violent criminals has been one of benign neglect, at best.

In 1999, on a vote in the Illinois senate on whether to try teenage gang-bangers as adults when they fire a gun on or near school grounds, Obama voted “present”, the functional equivalent of “NO”!

In 2001, when Illinois lawmakers tried to control rampant gang violence by making gang members eligible for the death penalty when they commit murder to help their gang, Obama voted against the measure.

Responding to a Chicago Tribune questionnaire, Obama said he believed federal mandatory-sentencing laws used to put armed and violent predators behind bars should be abolished!

And if those same violent criminals attack you, Obama opposes your fundamental, God-given right to protect yourself. He opposes your Right to Carry. In fact, according to Obama’s own hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, Obama supports federal legislation to ban the Right to Carry for everyone but police officers!

Obama supported Washington, D.C.’s total ban on handguns in the home for self-defense; and when Illinois lawmakers introduced a bill that would exonerate citizens for violating local gun bans if they used a gun to defend themselves in their homes, Obama voted “NO”!

Even attorney Walter Dellinger, who tried to defend the Washington, D.C., gun ban before the U.S. Supreme Court, admitted, “It is a universal or near universal rule of criminal law that there is a self-defense exception. It goes without saying.”

In other words, Barack Obama’s position is even more anti-gun than the District of Columbia’s! Obama’s record is clear. his concept of “hope and change” will surely result in anti-gun/anti-freedom changes bringing more hopelessness for the most helpless in our society.

Now is the time to act! Every gun owner in America must be alerted to Obama’s record. Please, tear out this page, copy it and distribute it to fellow gun owners, hunters, shooters, family and friends. Spread the word and get ready for the most important election battle of our lifetime.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Politics
TRENDING NOW
HOA Firearm Clash Augurs a Broader Legal Debate

News  

Monday, June 1, 2026

HOA Firearm Clash Augurs a Broader Legal Debate

The fight to defend Second Amendment rights is not confined to Washington, D.C., or even to the halls of state capitals.

Virginia’s Semiauto Ban Hits Snag With County Enforcement Officials

News  

Monday, June 1, 2026

Virginia’s Semiauto Ban Hits Snag With County Enforcement Officials

While Virginia’s bans on “assault firearms” and magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds was signed into law on May 14, and is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, it remains to be seen ...

Report Provides Context on “Machinegun-Convertible Pistol” Panic

News  

Monday, June 8, 2026

Report Provides Context on “Machinegun-Convertible Pistol” Panic

Anti-gun lawmakers and their gun control allies exploit menacing language to bolster their arguments against lawful arms: ordinary semi-automatic rifles and pistols become “weapons of war” and “assault weapons;” “large capacity magazines” actually refers to ...

New York:  Gov. Kathy Hochul Signs Gun Ban in State Budget Process

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul Signs Gun Ban in State Budget Process

On Wednesday, May 27, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed S.9005C, which “enacts into law major components” of the state’s public protection and general government budget.

Virginia: Court Reiterates Injunction on Private Sale Ban, as Anti-Gun Lawmakers Mislead Public

News  

Monday, June 8, 2026

Virginia: Court Reiterates Injunction on Private Sale Ban, as Anti-Gun Lawmakers Mislead Public

Last October, a judge in the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond ruled in the case Raul Wilson, Wyatt Lowman, Virginia Citizens Defense League, Gun Owners of America, Inc, and Gun Owners Foundation v. ...

Florida Attorney General, Law Enforcement Commissioner, and State Attorneys Agree Florida’s Waiting Period Law Violates the Second Amendment in NRA Challenge

Friday, June 5, 2026

Florida Attorney General, Law Enforcement Commissioner, and State Attorneys Agree Florida’s Waiting Period Law Violates the Second Amendment in NRA Challenge

Today, the parties in the National Rifle Association’s challenge to Florida’s firearm waiting period law jointly filed an Offer of Judgment asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to declare the ...

Pennsylvania: House Majority Democrats Pushing More Gun Control Next Week

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Pennsylvania: House Majority Democrats Pushing More Gun Control Next Week

On Monday, June 8, the House Judiciary Committee will hear a bill that will force Keystone gun owners to keep their guns under lock and key or face the consequences. 

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Maryland’s Glock Ban

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Maryland’s Glock Ban

The National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging Maryland’s ban on Glock and Glock-style handguns.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Post Office Carry Ban

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Post Office Carry Ban

The National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, and three NRA members today filed a lawsuit challenging the federal prohibition on carrying firearms at United States Post Offices.

Yet Another Tragic Example of the False Promise of Red Flag Laws

News  

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Yet Another Tragic Example of the False Promise of Red Flag Laws

We’ve consistently highlighted the defects of “red flag” laws, the chief of which is the underlying philosophy that compelling removal of a person’s own firearms is a sufficient resolution of any risk or threat of harm.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.