Between a Rock and A Hard Place

UNICEF has put out a release asking for donations to help Iraq children:

Childhood in Iraq is more precarious than ever. For example:

A large number of children, estimated in the tens of thousands, have lost parents, siblings and other family members to violence

* At least one in five primary school-age children is unable to go to school

* Only 40 per cent of children have regular access to safe drinking water*

* Some 600,000 children are among the 1.2 million Iraqis displaced over the past two years. Most families are still unable to return home.

Living with so much anxiety and loss has taken a heavy toll on children's psychological and social well-being. Many are anxious and war-weary, unable to sleep or concentrate at school. More and more have turned to the streets and to work, where they are exposed to the worst forms of abuse and exploitation.

http://crooksandliars.com/

Oralloy wrote:

But Obama's unbridled hatred of our Constitutional gun rights is chilling.

This is an excerpt from the SF Chronicle's series of articles on where the candidates stand on issues. In the article about crime and the death penalty, this was written:

Quote:

On gun control, Obama answered the same 1996 Illinois questionnaire by endorsing a statewide ban on handguns. He soon disavowed that position, claiming that a staffer had filled out the survey in error, but he was still calling for a national ban on carrying handguns as a U.S. Senate candidate in 2004, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

In the Senate, however, Obama has taken a measured position similar to Clinton's, advocating what he calls common-sense restrictions on guns, including a restoration of the federal ban on assault weapons, while promising to protect hunters and crack down on illegal dealers.

Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing

Q: When you were in the state senate, you talked about licensing and registering gun owners. Would you do that as president?

A: I don't think that we can get that done. But what we can do is to provide just some common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. 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.

Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008

2000: cosponsored bill to limit purchases to 1 gun per month
Obama sought moderate gun control measures, such as a 2000 bill he cosponsored to limit handgun purchases to one per month (it did not pass). He voted against letting people violate local weapons bans in cases of self-defense, but also voted in2004 to let retired police officers carry concealed handguns.

Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.148 Oct 30, 2007

Ban cheap guns; require safety locks; for gun show checks
McCain favors outlawing cheaply made handguns called Saturday night specials, and favors mandating safety locks on certain guns. He said he is intrigued by new technology that electronically identifies a person handling a gun, allowing only the owner to fire it. McCain rallied Senate Republicans behind a Democratic measure requiring background checks at gun shows.

Source: Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press Aug 17, 1999

Supports ban on certain assault weapons
McCain said he was open to voting for an assault weapon ban, depending on the details.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "McCain Calls for Hearings" Aug 17, 1999

Youth Violence Prevention Act restricts guns for kids
McCain has introduced the "Youth Violence Prevention Act."
The legislation would:
prevent juveniles from illegal access to weapons and punish those who would assist them in doing so
prohibit juveniles who commit acts of gun violence from purchasing guns in the future
sentence juveniles convicted of violent crimes under adult guidelines
and punish juveniles who illegally carry or use handguns in schools.

Source: www.mccain2000.com/ "Press Releases" May 10, 1999

And just so we're comparing apples with apples, let's take a look at the info on McCain at that same link.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/John_McCain_Gun_Control.htm

Quote:

Supports ban on certain assault weapons
McCain said he was open to voting for an assault weapon ban, depending on the details.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "McCain Calls for Hearings" Aug 17, 1999

From your link:

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Gun_Control.htm

Quote:

Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing

Q: When you were in the state senate, you talked about licensing and registering gun owners. Would you do that as president?

A: I don't think that we can get that done. But what we can do is to provide just some common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You've got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. 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.

Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008

He wrote a similar proposal about the need to protect the Second Amendment in his Audacity of Hope book a few years ago.

Just remember that we currently have a court with a one-judge margin tilting right of center that will hopefully protect the Second Amendment as well as all other Constitutional rights.

The next President could likely appoint one or two or even three new Supreme Court Justices and there are a lot of judges out there that are rather squishy or fluid on Constitutional issues.

That definitely should be a factor in our choice for the next President of the United States.