Bloomberg Outspent NRA and Firearms Industry Combined in 2012

Here's the graphic from the September America's 1st Freedom.

I especially like the fact that NRA broke down the spending for the association and the firearms industry by number of individuals represented (since without those 4 million members NRA would not have had that money to spend).

On a related note, it will be interesting to see what the final total is on the money Bloomberg spends on the Colorado recall vs the NRA and what kind of return Bloomberg gets for his investment.

Election Results and the Second Amendment

I'll have more indepth post later today but for now, this from Dave Kopel's analysis of Tuesday's final results:

Senate net: +1.5. House net: -12.5.

Dave concludes, as Obama leads us to fiscal collapse at least we can keep our guns.  I would modify that to at least we don't have to worry about any bad legislation getting out of congress.  It remains to be seen what executive action Obama attempts as he has already signaled support for reopening discussion of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty.

Election Night Tip Sheet

For those who will be watching tonight's returns wanting to know what the results mean for our rights, Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute spoke with NRANews' Cam Edwards recently on the key races to watch.



National Review Online's Jim Geraghty also did a "Quick List of 50 Key Counties" to watch tonight.   Here is what he said about important counties in Virginia:

VIRGINIA –
Prince William County (MAJOR BELLWETHER)
2004: Bush 53–47 2008: Obama 58-42
Obama 93,386 to McCain 67,589
Population: 402,002 Largest community: Dale City

Henrico County
Obama 56-44
Obama 86,262 to McCain 67,340

Loudoun County
Obama 54-46
Obama 74,607 to McCain 63,328

Winchester (independent city, not part of any county, small but useful)
Obama 52-47
Obama 5,268 to McCain 4,725

If Romney does well in the above localities, it could be a good night (at least in Virginia) for Mitt Romney.  Watch this blog tonight for updates on key races NRANews.com will also have wall-to-wall election coverage from 9:00PM until 3:00 AM.

You Can Make A Difference

We are in the final week of the campaign.  Can you volunteer some time to knock on doors or make phone calls?  If so, and you live in the Tidewater area or Southside/Southwest Virginia, please contact the NRA-ILA Campaign Field Reps at:

Robert Melvin (703) 622-4455 rbmelvin.nra@gmail.com Virginia Beach, VA

Luke Cebula 540-685-9995 Luke.NRA@gmail.com Salem, VA

Even if you don't live in one of these areas Robert and Luke can tell you how you can make phone calls from your home to NRA members in these final days.  It's all about turn out and we need to get every gun owner to the polls.

If you live in other areas of Virginia, you can also click here to find the nearest Victory Center where you can volunteer some time.

Why a Vote for Virgil Goode is a Vote for Barack Obama

A candidate that is only on the ballot in 26 states is not going to win the presidency.  Well, I guess if that candidate was on the ballot in the right 26 states, he or she might have a chance, but the 26 states where Virgil Goode is on the ballot don't even add up to 270.  Add to that the fact that he has no campaign resources (i.e. money for televison ads, mail etc) and you get the picture that this is a candidate who has no chance of winning the election and is only in it to act as a spoiler. 

Virgil Goode is an affable well liked former state legislator and congressman from southside Virginia.  He's folksy, conservative, and pro-rights.  He is running for president on the Constitution Party ticket and his main issue is stopping illegal immigration.  He is on the ballot in the states of Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming - (257 Electoral).  Additionally, voters in the states of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia can write in Virgil's name.

One may ask if Virgil is so against Obama, why would he run as essentially a "spoiler candidate?"  Virgil has said he does not care if he tilts the election in Obama's favor because there isn't any difference between the two major candidates.

There has been some talk of Virgil doing in Virginia what Ralph Nader is thought to have done to Al Gore in Florida in 2000.  Gore's supporters contended that those who voted for Ralph Nader would likely have voted for Gore had Nader not been on the ballot.  The comparison is likely not correct because Nader had higher name ID than Goode likely has.  But Goode should not be discounted in rural Virginia where he seems to have pitched his tent.  It is difficult to drive on the rural highways without seeing Goode signs on the side of the road, signs that were likely placed by the candidate himself.


Lt. Governor Bill Bolling told a gather of conservative activists in Richmond last Thursday that he does not believe Virgil will be a factor in Virginia. 

However, if Virgil is successful in taking away enough votes from Mitt Romney in Virginia to tilt the state toward Obama, then he will be in at least a small part responsible for consigning Virginia and the rest of the nation to four more years of the same, or worse, of what we have had the last four years.  This is truely a case of a vote for Virgil being a vote for Obama.

Don't Forget: The President is Decided by 50 Mini-Elections

With all the talk of Romney's rise nationally to a four to five point lead in Rasmussen and Gallup polls of likely voters, it is good to remember that it's not the popular vote that elects the president but 50 mini-elections in the states.  With a majority of the states likely settled on one side or the other, we have about 12 states that are true toss-ups which will decide whether Obama or Mitt Romney will have been elected President when we wake up November 7th.

In this morning's Morning Jolt, National Review's Jim Geraghty shared this analysis from Ellisblog on what could happen based on the current state of the race.

The bottom line:

So it may be that we end up with a Romney win nationally and an Obama win in the Electoral College.

This is just one man's assessment.  We can do our part in Virginia to make sure that Obama does not win this state again. Click here to find the nearest Victory Center and volunteer some time.  If you prefer, you can also volunteer to call NRA members and help turn them out to vote. Just contact the NRA-ILA Campaign Field Rep on this page and either Robert of Luke will tell you how to get involved.  If you are reading this and you do not live in Virginia, all of the NRA-ILA Field Rep contact information can be found on the link above.

Volunteers Needed to Help Turn Out the Vote

There is just a little over two weeks left before election day and we need volunteers that are willing to make phone calls to fellow NRA members to turn out the vote for November 6th.  NRA has just revised and simplified a script that you can follow when calling NRA members.  You can do it from your home using a toll free number to dial in.  If you can help with this effort and live in Virginia, contact Luke Cebula or Robert Melvin.  Both Robert and Luke can tell you how to access the phone bank.  Their Contact information is below:

Luke Cebula: Luke.NRA@gmail.com
Robert Melvin: rbmelvin.nra@gmail.com

If you don't live in Virginia you can find you Campaign Field Representative's contact information here.

AP Article Highlights Pro-Rights Groups Views of Romney

I tend to wonder what is the point of stories like this AP article that ran in today's Richmond Times Dispatch which points out pro-rights groups have not always seen eye to eye with Mitt Romney but that they are fully on board with him this year to defeat Barack Obama.

They repeat the Obama campaign talking point that he has done nothing to restrict the rights of gun owners and actually signed a bill that expanded gun rights (carrying in national parks). I tend to think the only reason to run a story like this is to give some Democrat that also happens to be an NRA member the opportunity to defend Obama.

For Obama, minimizing Romney's apparent advantage among voters who place a premium on outdoors issues is the name of the game.

In Iowa and other states, that task falls to people such as Dick Dearden. He's a Democratic state senator and leader of a group of pro-Obama outdoors enthusiasts.

"The president is not a threat to people who hunt and fish. He's an asset," Dearden said. "I'm a member of the NRA, and they are beginning to more and more embarrass me. I'm a Second Amendment person, but I have not seen anything this president has done for the last four years that has hurt anyone's Second Amendment rights."

First, the AP approaches this as being about "outdoor issues."  True to form, this Obama defender says the President is no threat to people who hunt and fish.  But the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or fishing.  And, I guess Senator Dearden has no concerns about creating a defacto gun registration list along the southern border where multiple sales of long guns have to be recorded.  NRA, which has sent out a similar mailer to the NSSF mailer featured above, focus on issues like carrying firearms for self-defense, and point out that Obama has a record of supporting things like bans on magazine size restrictions, banning modern sporting rifles, and banning the sale of handguns.  So, State Senator Dearden may be embarrased by the NRA, but we know there are real reasons to fear a second Obama term unfettered by the desire to get re-elected.  He has already shown his ability to use executive orders to get what he wants but can't get from Congress.  Do we really think he won't use it to attack our rights further in a second term?

This Should Be All The Proof You Need That This Election Is Important to Gun Owners

If gun owners needed proof that who wins the race for the White House is critical to our rights, the fact that yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could overturn an opinion rendered less than 10 years ago, should be all you need to convince you of what is at stake this year. Yesterday, the Court heard a challenge to its 2003 ruling that race may be considered as a factor when considering a candidate for admission to colleges and universities.  Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority opinion in 2003 which allowed universities to use race as a factor only to find a "critical mass of underrepresented minority students." What is different this time?  There is no Sandra Day O'Conner on the Court.  She was replaced by a more conservative justice who could well rule to overturn that opinion.

Think what could happen if President Obama is re-elected and in the next four years, one of the five justices that sided with the majority in Heller and McDonald is replaced by a more liberal justice who does not interpret the Second Amendment as an individual right.  There are a number of cases winding their way through the courts.  It is possible that one or more of these cases will reach the court in the next four years.

Virginia Gun Owners Should Vote Yes on Property Rights Constitutional Amendment

Besides the Presidential and Congressional elections this year, there are two constitutional amendments on the Virginia Ballot.  One of those amendments should be of interest to gun owners and deals with property rights.  The question on the ballot is:

Shall Section 11 of Article I (Bill of Rights) of the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to require that eminent domain only be exercised where the property taken or damaged is for public use and, except for utilities or the elimination of a public nuisance, not where the primary use is for private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue, or economic development; (ii) to define what is included in just compensation for such taking or damaging of property; and (iii) to prohibit the taking or damaging of more private property than is necessary for the public use?

VSSA urges a yes vote on this question. Article I, Section 11 of the Virgiinia Constitution prohibits the taking or damaging of private property for public uses without just compensation. The power to take private property for public uses is known as the power of eminent domain. If a private property owner and the entity acquiring property for a public use cannot agree on the sale of the property, the property may be taken by eminent domain and the amount of just compensation is decided in a court proceeding. 

The 2005 Kelo case from Connecticut (Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469), changed all of that.  In Kelo, the United States Supreme Court upheld the taking of private property and its transfer to a private business for economic development purposes and also said that states could restrict the use of eminent domain.
You may say that something like this would never happen in Virginia.  But it already has, and you can see it on exit 263 on I-64 in Hampton.  The city came to the land owner and said they needed 18 acres of land for an exit ramp.  The land owner replied that an exit ramp doesn't take 18 acres.  He was correct.  The city wanted 17 of the 18 acres so a developer could build the shopping center that is currently home to the Hampton Bass Pro Shops and other stores.

With development increasing in rural areas, many of which are home to Virginia's shooting ranges, localities could see taking these properties as a way to end noise complaints from the new neighbors of the ranges, and the added benefit of increasing their tax base through development.

In 2007, the General Assembly enacted § 1-219.1 of the Code of Virginia and set limits on the use of eminent domain powers. For example, § 1-219.1 provides that no more private property may be taken than is necessary for the stated public use, that the public interest for the taking must outweigh any private gain, and that private property cannot be taken for certain primary purposes such as increasing the tax base, revenues, or employment. But a code section can be amended and our property rights infringed at any time.  Unlike a code section, the proposed constitutional amendment adds the additional protection of only being changed by a future constitutional amendment approved by the voters.

Vote Yes on the Property Rights Constitutional Amendment.

The Only Poll That Counts is Election Day

There is a lot of energy among supporters of Mitt Romney following the first Presidential Debate.  Recent polls show a bumpin support for Romney.  But polls are only a snapshot in time.  I do find it interesting though that when the sample is tilted toward the Democrats, the media finds nothing wrong, but when the sample shows a larger turnout model for Republicans, which given the so-called "enthusiasm gap" could happen to a small degree, we are told we should take the poll with a "grain of salt."

The only poll that counts however is election day.  And if we are going to win, we need to make sure that every one we know who supports our rights gets out and votes.

This Is What Is At Stake November 6th

Election Day.  You've heard it before, "This is the most important election of our time."  This time, they are right.

Please heed their call.  Between now and November 6th, please do all you can to help elect the NRA Endorsed Candidates for Congress, U.S. Senate, and President.

Trashing Our Friends

It has become a once every two year occurrence.  The 7th District Republican Committee holds their Annual Republican Round-Up at the western Henrico Snagajob Pavilion, and pro-rights' Congressman Eric Cantor gets trashed because the pavilion does not allow firearms.  Already this year, according to the Washington Post, fliers appeared on cars at Monday night's debate between Cantor and his Democrat opponent that charged Cantor with being "anti-gun."  You can bet that fliers will also be on vehicles at this year's Round-Up.

For Cantor's part, his campaign spokesman notes that Cantor does not organize the event though he does attend it.  It is meant as a sort of political fall festival with free food, beverages, pony rides and rock climbing for the kids, and a rally with political speeches.

For those unfamiliar with Virginia's 7th Congressional District, most of the population is located in the Richmond metro area.  It also includes the rural counties of  Culpeper, Orange, Spotsylvania, Louisa, and New Kent.  So, if your population is centered in one area, it makes since that the event would be held in the population center of the district rather than on of the rural counties.

As for Cantor being anti-gun, nothing could be further from the truth.  Yes, he did vote for the one gun-a-month law in 1993.  A number of suburban Republicans that would normally have been considered pro-rights voted for the bill, as the bill that passed was less obtrusive than the one that Governor Doug Wilder, or at least that is the way some of them explained it at the time.  It should be noted that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell voted for the bill too.  He however has changed his position and signed the repeal into law earlier this year.

What has Cantor done since that one bad vote almost twenty years ago?

• Cantor joined the historic briefs filed before the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, which argued that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental, individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Virginia and everywhere else in America.
• Cantor voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal and civil contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas related to the deadly Operation Fast and Furious scandal.
• He cosponsored and voted for the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” which protected American gun makers from being sued into bankruptcy, and voted for H.R. 822, “The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act,” which would ensure that law-abiding Americans with valid concealed handgun permits would be able to carry a concealed handgun in any other state that does not prohibit concealed carry.
• Cantor voted for an amendment to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from circumventing the will of Congress by centralizing records of thousands of Americans’ long gun purchases.
• He voted for H.R. 4089, “The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act,” which would promote America’s hunting heritage and positively impact sportsmen throughout the country.
• Cantor voted for the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act to prohibit gun confiscation during states of emergency as happened after Hurricane Katrina.

Cantor has been a reliable vote protecting the rights of Virginia's gun owners.  He earned an "A+" rating from the NRA-PVF this year and the association's endorsement.

One final note, the NRA has sometimes held their annual meeting in locations that did not allow firearms in the building.  This does not make the NRA anti-gun, it just means that there are only certain venues that are large enough to hold an NRA Annual Meeting and accommodate 70,000.  It's likely that the 7th Congressional Republican Committee faces a similar situation.  Most gun owners care more about the votes cast on issues important to them than the locations at which a candidate speaks. Trashing our friends because we don't like where they hold their events does not help our cause.  Cantor not only "talks the talk" but he also "walks the walk" by voting in favor of our rights. He is a friend to gun owners and we should support him on November 6th.

Colin Goddard Releases E-Book Just in Time for Presidential Debates

WTVR-TV6 reports that Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting and gun control activist, is scheduled to speak at the University of Colorado in Boulder, just two hours before the first Presidential Debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama in Denver. At 7 o’clock Goddard will formally release “10 Minutes That Changed My Life.”

Goddard is purposely holding the release on the same day as the presidential debate, hoping he can draw attention to the issue of gun control and the need for the candidates to take a decisive stance on the issue, instead of just talking about it in the wake of mass shooting like Virginia Tech or the Aurora theater shooting.

“Neither Mitt Romney or Obama have given thoughts on what they would do to reduce the number of us that are shot and killed every year,” Goddard told CBS 6. “During the next presidential term an average of 48,000 of us will be murdered by someone with a gun.”

Romney has stated that he does not support additional laws which do nothing more than burden law-abiding citizens while being ignored by criminals. Obama in August of this year reaffirmed through his spokesman support for renewing the ban on modern sporting rifles.  It remains to be seen if gun control will come up during tonight's debate. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are scheduled to appear at a rally in Fishersville, Virginia on Thursday with the NRA's Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox.

NRA Volunteers Needed for Rally Thursday

Pro-rights volunteers are needed to help out with staffing the Romney/Ryan Rally, Thursday, October 4th that will feature NRA member and Country Music star Trace Adkins .  The rally is being held at Augusta Expoland, 277 Expo Road in Fishersville, VA 22939.

The following link provide the information for people to get tickets and to event and the location of the event: http://battlegroundwatch.com/2012/09/30/romney-ryan-rally-thursday-oct-4-in-fishersville-virginia/
NRA Campaign Field Rep. Robert Melvin will be giving away free NRA t-shirts, hats and koozies to everyone that comes out and helps staff the event.

A huge turn out is expected so a lot of volunteers will be needed.  If you can help, please contact Robert Melvin at:

Robert B. Melvin

Email: rbmelvin.nra@gmail.com

Twitter: twitter.com/NRA_VA_02
Facebook:National Rifle Association (Second Congressional District of VA)

NRA Endorsements Out for Virginia

NRA-PVF has posted the grades for Virginia's Senate and Congressional Candidates.  Not suprisingly, in the U.S. Senate Race, former Senator and Governor George Allen received the endorsement over Former Governor Tim Kaine.

In House Races, the ratings are (bold is NRA Endorsed Candidate, * indicates incumbant):

District 1

*Rob Wittman (R)  Grade: A 

  Adam Cook (D)  Grade: B 

District 2

*Scott Rigell (R)  Grade: A

  Paul Hirschbiel (D)  Grade: D 

District 3

  Dean Longo (R)  Grade: ? 

 *Bobby Scott (D)  Grade: D+ 

District 4

*Randy Forbes (R)  Grade: A   

  Ella Ward (D)  Grade: ? 

District 5

*Robert Hurt (R)  Grade: A   

 John Douglass (D)  Grade: D 

District 6

*Bob Goodlatte (R)  Grade: A 

  Andy Schmookler (D)  Grade: ? 

District 7

*Eric Cantor (R)  Grade: A+   

 E. Wayne Powell (D)  Grade: AQ 

District 8

Patrick Murray (R)  Grade: AQ 

*Jim Moran (D)  Grade: F 

District 9

*Morgan Griffith (R)  Grade: A+ 

  Anthony Flaccavento (D)  Grade: ? 

District 10

*Frank Wolf (R)  Grade: B+ 

  Kristin Cabral (D)  Grade: ? 

District 11

Chris Perkins (R)  Grade: AQ   

*Gerry Connolly (D)  Grade: F

Please contact the endorsed candidate in your congressional district to see how you can assist in the closing days of the election.

If you want to spead the word about why another four years of Barack Obama will be a diaster for our rights, click here to download a fact sheet to share with your gun club members, family, and friends.

Absentee Voting Underway in Virginia

In-person absentee voting began last Friday (Sept. 21), and ends on Nov. 3. Applications for mail-in absentee voting are available through the State Board of Elections and local voter registration offices. The Richmond Times Dispatch noted that both Chesterfield and Henrico Counties have seen higher rates of in-person absentee voting in the first week that they did in 2008:

Chesterfield County General Registrar Larry Haake said requests for ballots by mail appear to be the same as in 2008 but that in-person voting is up.

Fewer than 100 people had voted in the first three days of absentee voting in 2008 while this year, as of Tuesday, 185 people had voted absentee in person, he said.

Henrico County's western voter registration location saw 69 voters on the first day of in-person absentee voting and so far has seen close to 300 voters, according to Mark J. Coakley, the county's general registrar. The numbers may be higher whenthe county's eastern location is included.

In 2008, 300 people voted in-person absentee in Henrico through the first week of voting, Coakley said.

There is no way to know if the increased interest in absentee voting in these two areas are a better sign for Romney or Obama but it is clear we need to be All In this year to defeat Barack Obama.  The stakes could not be higher in this election, not only for our rights, but also for the economic health of our nation.  If you are not registered to vote, or if you have moved since the last election and need to re-register, you have until October 15th.  Please take the time to register, you can do it here, and here.

Virginia Center for Public Safety Laments That Candidates Avoid Gun Control

The Virginia Center for Public Safety sent out this email yesterday lamenting that candidates running for office this year are not raising the issue of gun control.  After rolling off the usual statistics on murder by firearms, negligent discharge (they call it accidental), and suicide by firearm, they say:

As things stand today, neither Presidential candidate has expressed a clear plan on how to deal with this monumental public health issue, though their party platforms are quite different on the subject.

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that, thus far, neither candidate appears to have the strength of character to bring up this issue for sensible and reasoned discussion.

Other topics, that have nowhere near the same potential impact on American lives, are freely discussed and debated back and forth, but not this one.

According to a March 2011 CDC report, of the top 15 causes of death in the nation, suicide ranked 10th and homicide ranked 15th.  That same report showed that in 2009, 588 people were killed by the negligent discharge (again the CDC calls it accidental) of a firearm.  While that number is too high, negligent firearm discharge deaths are at all time lows, and was well below automobile accidents (36,284), accidental falls (24,834) and accidental drownings (3,539).  There were 11,406 homicides by firearms in 2009.

There is no evidence that gun control reduces crime.  In fact in cities like Chicago and Washington DC that at one time banned private ownership of firearms, and all but bans it now, the evidence is just the opposite - the citizens of the two cities are at the mercy of well armed criminals.  Both of these cities are among those which are not particularly hard on their criminals as NRANews.com's Cam Edwards details nightly in his Deal of the Day segment. Maybe putting violent criminals behind bars and keeping them there would reduce those homicide numbers.

It's likely voters know that gun control does not control crime and explains why gun control does not even register as an issue important to voters, and why the candidates are talking about issues like the economy and jobs.

Washington Post Poll Shows Obama Leads Romney By 8% Among Likely Voters

The Washington Post has released the results of it's latest poll that, according to the poll, shows Obama leading in Virginia by 8% among likely voters.  Interestingly, that is a higher margin that Obama leads by among registered voters. Among registered voters, the spread is 7%.

Virginia does not register voters by party, though the State Board of Elections keeps track of who votes in party primaries, which is the only way to get an indication of the way particular voters lean.  So, a voter that only votes in Republican primaries and votes in every GOP primary, no matter how minor the office, it is likely safe to say is a GOP voter (same with the voter in Democrat primaries).  The individual who splits there time between party primaries could probably be identified as an independent.  For the purposes of this poll, it appears the Post relied on self identification rather than asking the SBE to sort the voter list by primary voters.  The spread among self identifying party affiliation is 8 points in favor of Democrats (32% to 24% with 35% identifying as Independent).

I'll let you decide if the poll is tilted.

Update: Norman Leahy has this to say about the poll over on Bearing Drift.

Christian Science Monitor Comparison of Romney, Obama on Firearm Rights

On Sunday, The Christian Science Monitor had this comparison of Romney's and Obama's stands on firearm related issues.  While I did chuckle at the CSM's choice of Obama's photo (below),


saying the two candidates have similar stands, and pointing to the fact that the only gun related actions Obama has taken expanded gun owner rights (carrying in national parks and transporting in checked luggage on Amtrak trains as is allowed on airplanes), misses the mark. Both of those measures were attached to legislation Obama wanted more than he did not want the gun related amendments.

The CSM did not mention that the administration is collecting data on multiple sales of long guns along the southern border in violation of the law, nor did they mention that he has appointed two very anti-rights justices to the Supreme Court.

While Romney is not perfect, he has more than once spoken to the largest gathering of gun owners in the nation (NRA Celebration of American Values Forum in 2007 and the NRA Annual Meetings in 2008, 2009 and 2012).  Obama on the other hand repeatedly singles out modern sporting rifles as one of the types of firearms he would like to ban.  Just because he has not attempted to do anything in his first term legislatively, given his penchant for ruling by executive fiat of late, does anyone believe that an Obama unfettered by re-election would not resort to doing the same on the gun issue?