retired54 wrote:
The Second Amendment will be the
first to go,followed closely
by the First Amendment.


I've heard this before and I'm not getting it.

Has he done something to make gun lovers afraid? I'm sincerely
curious. I have no strong opinions on the 2nd Amendment other than I
think it should be enforced.

## Oh boy, you've really opened a can of creepy things. Obama and the 2nd
Amendment?

* While in the Illinois Senate, he voted to ban several hundred common
firearms,
* He endorsed a ban on ALL handguns,
* As an Illinois senator, he voted to allow prosecution of homeowners
defending their homes with firearms,
* He voted to increase taxation of ammunition and firearms by 500%,
* As a US Senator, he voted to ban virtually all common rifle ammunition,
* He is on record as opposing all right-to-carry laws. (48 states have
right-to-carry laws)

However, in 2006, he voted in the U.S. Senate to prohibit gun confiscation
in an emergency (i.e., Katrina). This is his only known unequivocal pro-gun
position, vote, or utterance.

Here's what he recently said regarding the Heller decision:

"As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an
individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right
does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the
exercise of that right, in the same way that we have a right to private
property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that
determine how you can use it."

He's correct in that state and local government can constrain a
Constitutional right. But when they do, they must follow the "strict
scrutiny" standard. Government can prohibit yelling "fire" in a crowded
theatre or the use of a sound truck at midnight, but it can't curtail all
speech nor all political functions.

In the case to which he referred, D.C. vs. Heller, the District prohibited
ownership of ALL handguns. By no standard is this a 'reasonable
restriction,' and the United States Supreme Court said so.


As far as the 1st Amendment I'm sure there are many more right-wing
kooks would like to wiggle around that one.


As for the 1st Amendment, the leadership of the Congress is already making
noises about re-imposing the "fairness doctrine."

I don't think Obama has taken a position on that issue. We'll see.