Reader Responses

In a letter in the Tyler Paper July 21, M.S.T. Namboodiri stated: "Regarding his stances on firearms rights, Sen. Obama always supported rights of citizens to bear arms for self-defense, but at the same time favored necessary restrictions at the local level."

Excuse me! Are we talking about the same Obama from Illinois that has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the United States? Or how about Chicago that has laws similar to D.C. which was knocked down by the Supreme Court in the recent Heller decision?

During the primaries Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for "sportsmen" or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.

Based on votes taken, political associations and long-standing positions, Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Don't listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.

Some facts about Obama and how he voted before he was for gun rights: Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry; wants to re-impose the failed Clinton Gun Ban; voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sports shooting; has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership; supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities; voted to uphold local gun bans and criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense; supports gun owner licensing and gun registration; refused to sign a friend-of-the-court brief in support of individual rights in the Heller case.

Also, he opposes Right to Carry laws; was a member of the board of Joyce Foundation, leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research;" supported a proposal to ban gun stores within five miles of a school or park which would eliminate almost every gun store in America; voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them. There is more.

I do not believe his position on gun rights has changed one bit, no matter what he says now.

Royce C. Hayes
Flint