Obama Rolls Out "Sportsmen for Obama"

That's right - in Minnesota earlier this week Obama's campaign rolled out a sportsmen network, with a pledge to protect hunters' gun rights, expand and restore habitat for hunting and fishing, and enhance programs that teach youth about outdoors activities.

Obama's campaign is working to repel the NRA push to inform gun owners that Obama is an enemy of the Second Amendment that includes reminding gun owners of the candidate's inartful statement during the primaries about the tendency of small-town Americans to "cling to guns or religion."

Included in Obama's effort are radio ads that Obama is running in several key states, including Virginia, that feature Ray Schoenke, President of the astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA). As mentioned in a post yesterday, Schoenke tells listeners that "Barack Obama and John McCain will both make sure we can keep our guns."

Apparently not all gun owners and hunters know Obama's record when it comes to firearms and ammunition. According to an article on Townhall.com, during the roll out of the Obama sportsmen group, a Minnesota hunter said "Tell me where Senator Obama says `I want stricter controls on who can hunt and when' or 'I want to ban shotguns and rifles,'" said Jarve, a member of Obama's Minnesota sportsmen chapter. "Where has he said that? He hasn't."

Well, lets see, Obama voted to:

• allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry to continue;
• voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate “assault weapons,” but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen;
• voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting;
• endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition;
• supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America;

All of the above would affect the ability of hunters to participate in their sport either directly or indirectly. So, while he may not have come right out and said so, Obama has either proposed or voted for measures that would restrict the availability of firearms and/or ammunition for hunting and sport shooting.

Never mind the fact that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting.