4um: 'Hunters & Shooters' endorse Obama, group says he supports gun rights

Title: 'Hunters & Shooters' endorse Obama, group says he supports gun rights
Source: Raw Story
URL Source: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Hunte ... dorses_Obama_says_he_0416.html
Published: Apr 16, 2008
Author: Nick Juliano
Post Date: 2008-04-16 13:59:52 by robin
Keywords: None
Views: 923
Comments: 63

Less than a week after coming under fire for saying small-town Pennsylvanians "cling to" gun rights, Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of a pro-gun association that has backed Democratic candidates in the past.

The American Hunters & Shooters Association said Obama's views of the 2nd Amendment have been unfairly criticized and its endorsement comes as Obama's opponents are characterizing him as an "elitist" and condescending towards gun-owners.

The group sets itself apart from the "more extreme" elements of the pro-gun lobby like the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America. Unlike them, AHSA favors some gun-control measures like background checks and required safety courses for concealed weapons permits. (The NRA has accused the group of being a front for the anti-gun lobby.)

Ray Schoenke, the hunters association's president, cited Obama's support of an amendment to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would prevent the government from confiscating citizens' guns during an emergency. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Obama's opponent in the Democratic primary, and 16 other senators voted against the amendment.

"She turned her back on America's gun owners," Schoenke said during a conference call organized by the Obama campaign Wednesday.

Schoenke said the group reached out to the Obama campaign several weeks ago, before the recent controversy surrounding his comments about small-town voters. In announcing their support in the midst of the controversy, though, the group hoped to "set the record straight," about Obama's support of an individual's right to gun ownership, he said.

"We understand that the gun issue is going to be very important in this election," said Bob Ricker, the group's executive director, citing an ongoing Supreme Court case regarding a handgun ban in Washington, DC. "Up until this time, the candidates haven't really been willing to talk about guns." (1 image)

Are you serious? The NRA and GOA "extreme"? Do you agree these groups are extreme, robin?

I don't know enough about them, but I do recall someone here saying the NRA was a front.

Ray Schoenke, the hunters association's president, cited Obama's support of an amendment to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would prevent the government from confiscating citizens' guns during an emergency. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Obama's opponent in the Democratic primary, and 16 other senators voted against the amendment.

"She turned her back on America's gun owners," Schoenke said during a conference call organized by the Obama campaign Wednesday.

Well let me help you robin. There isn't a sole on this forum who'd say the NRA or the GAO is extreme, except for the president of The American Hunters & Shooters Association, who is Democrat politician wannabe.

At least if Novak is to be believed, Hillary has never taken Obama's position that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.

He doesn't believe in an individual right to keep and bear arms. Obama believes in local "common sense" restrictions on guns (whatever that means). Novak hasn't received an answer on his position regarding the current DC Supreme Court case that is pending, or what he specifically means by local "common sense" restrictions.

Like 6 year olds should not own guns? I call that common sense. It might be worth pursuing what Obama thinks is common sense about guns, if you have concerns.

suppose a "common sense" restriction were applied to the 1st amendment or any other? whose "common sense?" the fact is Obama's position on the 2nd amendment is a bastardization of its meaning and purpose.

Isn't the legal recourse of pursuing someone for slander or libel a "common sense" restriction to the 1st Amendment?

And people are not allowed to shout through bullhorns where ever they like. That's what I would call an example of a common sense restriction to the 1st Amendment.

Nixon once described our liberties as the ability to swing our arms as much as we like so long as we don't hit anyone else.

The bullhorn incident would violate a noise ordinance rather than a speech code, but that said, the evil most see coming down the pike regarding the 1st A are Hate laws, which criminalize words. And worse, these laws are applied unequally to whites as opposed to blacks. It's an example of the double standard of "justice' liberals are unable to concede exists.

New group gunning to be alternative to NRA.

Byline: Lew Freedman

The membership of the National Rifle Association is 4 million and it is rare to hear a hunter or competitive shooter make strong statements against the organization.

That's because the NRA is viewed as the uncompromising, stalwart, shooters' rights defender.

So when Ray Schoenke, former Washington Redskins football player, a life-long gun owner and an avid hunter says, "They don't speak for me," it is an attention-getter.

Schoenke and his partners appeared at a national outdoor writers convention in Lake Charles, La., recently to muster awareness and support for the new American Hunters & Shooters Association, billed as an alternative to the NRA.

The association, said Schoenke, president of the new group, is more middle-of-the-road politically than the NRA.

"We think for most hunters and shooters, that's where they are," he said. "There's a middle ground."

The NRA's position on gun control is best epitomized by former group president Charlton Heston's legendary stance indicating the only way he would give up his gun is if someone pried it from his cold, dead hands.

For the Hunters & Shooters Association, the issues do not have to be black and white.

"No one needs an assault weapon," Schoenke said.

Robert Ricker, the Frederick, Md.-based group's executive director, said there are millions of Americans who are neutral, or who don't have informed opinions about gun ownership, hunting and the shooting sports, and they must be reached by an organization that doesn't seem extremist.

"We want to change the impression of hunting and shooting in the minds of the general public," Ricker said. "The heritage, the fathers and sons, gets forgotten. Instead, `It's all bad.' What we have to do is teach all these people in the middle."

Not surprisingly, the NRA is attuned to such challenges from competing gun rights groups, hinting that the Hunters & Shooters Association might be a fifth column on the side of gun-possession foes. Though it sounds far- fetched in this case, the NRA says beware of enemy "antis" in sheep's clothing.

The Hunters & Shooters Association might be "trying to market itself as a hunting group," said NRA director of public affairs Andrew Arulanandam. "I would say they do support the (President) Clinton gun ban which encompasses semi-automatic weapons. We have no gray area in our support for hunting."

The NRA is the 800-pound gorilla. The organization has many friends who trust the NRA to head off threats to gun ownership and count on its lobbying muscle.

"We have a presence in Congress," Arulanandam said. "We have a presence in all 50 states. Politicians at all levels pay attention to us. We are the largest hunting organization in the country."

The Hunters & Shooters Association believes there is room for compromise in areas such as assault weapons. But the NRA has an all-or-nothing outlook and that approach has worked for it.

The NRA is well- funded, established, has a powerful voice and is a well-known brand name that resonates even with people who are not hunters and shooters.

The organization isn't welcoming because it doesn't see a need for assistance, certainly not from a group that might water down the NRA's hard-core message.

"If you are a law-abiding American, we don't think your (gun ownership) rights ought to be restricted," Arulanandam said. "We're interested in getting guns out of the hands of criminals. Go after the criminal. Leave the ownership of firearms to those people who aren't a problem."

The Hunters & Shooters Association has no illusions.

The NRA has millions of members and the new association has hundreds. Schoenke and Ricker are convinced that making believers out of the vast numbers of Americans who have no strong opinion about hunting or shooting sports can benefit activities.

Logic says they are right, that there are always many undecideds. But we live in a time when politics is dominated by sound bites, not well-thought-out views. The modern political world is characterized by absolute positions, not middle ground stands. The NRA is right at home with that.

The Hunters & Shooters Association is banking on a willingness to listen that may overestimate its intended audience.

"Part of our job is to bring back the view that hunting is our heritage," Schoenke said. "We don't want the soccer moms out there to be frightened of us. It takes time and it's hard."

___

Like Walter Williams says, I want whatever the government has to use against me.

Uh-huh. It's amazing how interested people are in defining new criminals but have NOTHING to say about illegal alien criminal acts.