Dems' positions on gun control lacking

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/13861097.html

Jan. 17, 2008

IN THE OUTDOORS: Dems' positions on gun control lacking

C. DOUGLAS NIELSEN

Before being questioned about it during Tuesday's nationally televised

debate, Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and

Barack Obama had not readily addressed the subject of gun control. It hadn't

been part of their scripted talking points.

Even their Web sites today are void of a position statement on the gun

control issue. By contrast, the three leading Republican candidates -- Mike

Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney -- have posted statements outlining

their positions on this sensitive topic.

During Tuesday's debate, MSNBC's Tim Russert asked the candidates

specifically about their positions on gun control.

Clinton said she had backed off a national licensing and registration plan

she had supported previously but would like to reinstate the assault weapons

ban. I wonder if she realizes many of the firearms we use for legal hunting

have been labeled by some politicians as assault firearms.

Clinton also said: "Well, I am against illegal guns, and illegal guns are

the cause of so much death and injury in our country. I also am a political

realist, and I understand that the political winds are very powerful against

doing enough to try to get guns off the street, get them out of the hands of

young people. ... You know, I believe in the Second Amendment. People have a

right to bear arms. But I also believe that we can common-sensically

approach this."

My guess is the political winds to which Clinton was referring are legal gun

owners and the National Rifle Association.

Speaking of licensing and registration of gun owners, Obama said: "I don't

think that we can get that done. ... But here's the broader context that I

think is important for us to remember: We essentially have two realities,

when it comes to guns, in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful

gun ownership, that all of us (see), as we travel around rural parts of the

country. And it is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt,

fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. And then you've got the

reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the

streets of Chicago.

"We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is

respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also

start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the

streets."

I suppose we could start by actively enforcing the laws we already have on

the books and quit passing legislation that only impacts the law-abiding gun

owner.

When posing the gun control question to Edwards, Russert reiterated that

Democrats had been leading the charge for registration and licensing of guns

and asked: "It now appears that there's recognition that it's hard to win a

national election with that position. Is that fair?"

"I think that's fair," Edwards answered, "but I haven't changed my position

on this. I'm against it. Having grown up where I did in the rural South,

everyone around me had guns, everyone hunted. And I think it is enormously

important to protect people's Second Amendment rights.

"I don't believe that means you need an AK-47 to hunt. And I think the

assault weapons ban, which Hillary spoke about just a minute ago, as

president of the United States, I'll do everything in my power to reinstate

it. But I do think we need a president who understands the sportsmen;

hunters who use their guns for lawful purposes have a right to have their

Second Amendment rights looked after."

I wonder if Edwards realizes that it is already illegal to hunt game animals

with a fully automatic firearm such as an AK-47 and that owning such a gun

requires a federal firearms license and extensive background investigation.

On the Republican side of the aisle, the position statements of Huckabee,

McCain and Romney can be summed up thusly: The right to keep and bear arms

is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, a right that the

government and the president have an obligation to protect. It is a right

that protects us from tyranny.

As McCain wrote on his Web site: "Gun control is a proven failure in

fighting crime. Law-abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their

rights because of criminals -- criminals who ignore gun control laws

anyway."

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and conservation educator

for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His "In the Outdoors" column is

published Thursday. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.