Barak Obama's Gun Control Positions

Politicians today try to say all the right things to get as many votes as they possibly can. However, when we evaluate their past statements and voting records, we can find out the truth about what they stand for. One issue that is near and dear to the hearts of many Americans is gun control. This is, perhaps, one of the greatest issues separating people, and separating many candidates today. It is certainly an issue that many voters consider before casting their vote for a candidate. Where does Barak Obama stand on this vital issue? He has made enough statements concerning the subject of gun control to give us a fair idea of his own position, as well as what he would do if elected president.

In 2000, Barak Obama cosponsored a bill that would have limited the purchase of handguns to one per month. That may not sound significant, but the truth is, such a bill would impede the rights of law abiding citizens. There is no justifiable reason to limit the ability of people who have no criminal record from purchasing any legal fire arm. Obama at the same time also voted against allowing people to violate local fire arms bans even in the case of self protection. What does that mean in application? Criminals who are already breaking the law have nothing to worry about, because Obama has made sure that law abiding citizens cannot carry a weapon to protect themselves against those criminals.

According to the 1998 Illinois State Legislative National Political Awareness Test of July 2, 1998, Obama also supports the banning of all semi-automatic weapon sales and transfers. When most people hear "semi-automatic weapon", they think of the gun in the hand of the gang banger. That may be true, but there are a lot of other guns that are semi-automatic, which would also be included in such bans. Shotguns, for example, that are used by bird hunters would fall under the ban. The only reason to try to ban a whole class of gun, with such a wide stroke, is to start the progression of banning all guns eventually.