Barack Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of
America’s hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sport.
Were it not for America’s hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo
Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based
game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. Obama recognizes that we must
forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America’s hunters and
anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition [1].
PROTECTING GUN RIGHTS
Respect the Second Amendment: Millions of hunters own and use guns each year. Millions more participate
in a variety of shooting sports such as sporting clays, skeet, target and trap shooting that may not necessarily
involve hunting. As a former constitutional law professor, Barack Obama believes the Second Amendment
creates an individual right, and he greatly respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms. He will
protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the
purposes of hunting and target shooting. He also believes that the right is subject to reasonable and
commonsense regulation [1].
Obama past statements and past voting record concerning the subject of gun control gives us a prime idea of his own position, as well as what he would do if elected president.
During his tenure in the Illinois State Senate - in 2000, Barak Obama cosponsored a bill that would have limited the purchase of handguns to one per month. That may not sound significant, but the truth is, such a bill would impede the rights of law abiding citizens.
There is no justifiable reason to limit the ability of people who have no criminal record from purchasing any legal fire arm. Obama at the same time also voted against allowing people to violate local fire arms bans even in the case of self protection.
According to the 1998 Illinois State Legislative National Political Awareness Test of July 2, 1998, Obama also supports the banning of all semi-automatic weapon sales and transfers. When most people hear "semi-automatic weapon", they think of the gun in the hand of the gang banger. That may be true, but there are a lot of other guns that are semi-automatic, which would also be included in such bans. Shotguns, for example, that are used by bird hunters would fall under the ban. The only reason to try to ban a whole class of gun, with such a wide stroke, is to start the progression of banning all guns eventually.[A]
See John McCain's standings on the Second Amendment and Gun Control.