Though President Barack Obama has repeatedly told gun owners that they have no reason to fear his administration, I believe that it has been made more than clear that such statements should be taken as false. Not only does he have a history of supporting gun control, but his newly appointed attorney general recently made it known that he would be seeking to permanently reinstate the so-called “assault” weapons ban that expired in 2004.

I am sure that our president will mince words and say the bans are not intended to take guns out of the hands of ordinary citizens, but unfortunately, he must believe that most of us only carry shotguns or rifles and never any other weapon because his support of the weapon bans would infringe on the right for other guns to be borne by regular Americans.

We certainly should have seen this coming, and many of us did. During his campaign in Pennsylvania, the then presidential candidate referred to everyday Americans as “clinging to their guns.” His meaning was clear – that Second Amendment rights were not a priority to him or his agenda – that the public was mistaken in focusing on gun issues.

Next, he appointed Eric Holder, a known gun control supporter as his attorney general. This was a red flag to gun owners across the nation.

Those who know the president’s history as a legislator also know that he said he felt the federal handgun ban was constitutional before it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. He later claimed that he had never made such a statement and that he understood that the ban went beyond constitutional limits.

President Obama had the audacity to tell voters during his campaign that “I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns.” He also stated at a news conference that “Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear … I think people can take me at my word.”

Sadly, it is not unheard of for a politician to make a false statement in order to mislead the public. It is particularly strange to do so when all the evidence clearly highlights the lie.

Gun owners can take some comfort in the fact that even conservative Democrats oppose any efforts to limit Second Amendment rights. Some have openly vowed to oppose it. Even with a number of gun control advocates in the U.S. Congress, there is no doubt that the Obama Administration will face a tougher crowd in enacting gun control legislation.

President Barack Obama will continue to fight for gun control, however, and I would expect that given enough time and energy he might even find success in doing so.

I urge our legislators to ensure they pressure their fellow lawmakers across the aisle to oppose such measures, to match the pressure that is surely coming from the White House.

Contact Rep. Derby at 405-557-7377 or by e-mail at david.derby@okhouse.gov.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 and is filed under Editorials.