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Thursday, October 23, 2008

NRA Blasts Obama As Threat

By Jeff Jones
Journal Staff Writer
       The National Rifle Association has targeted New Mexico in its $15 million national quest to paint Democrat Barack Obama as one of the biggest threats to gun owners "in American history."
    Some sportsmen, including the state's top Obama backer, Gov. Bill Richardson, say the NRA claim lacks firepower. But he and Obama appear to differ on allowing regular citizens to carry concealed firearms.
    Richardson signed legislation in 2003 to allow everyday New Mexicans to carry concealed handguns and has since expanded the law. Obama — who favors some gun-control measures — has indicated he's not an advocate of allowing people to carry concealed guns.
    A spokesman for the NRA, Andrew Arulanandam, whose group has aired cable TV ads and sent out mailers in New Mexico, maintained that Obama has a long record of siding against gun owners.
    "Guns rights matter to the people of New Mexico. They value their Western way of life, and it is clear Barack Obama looks at them with contempt," said Arulanandam, whose group is backing Republican presidential candidate John McCain — who himself has taken some positions opposed by the giant gun rights organization.
    At least one independent fact-checking group has taken aim at the NRA's broad claims against Obama, saying the NRA "distorts Obama's position on gun control beyond recognition."
    Obama has said he's no threat to law-abiding gun owners and believes Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms. It's a message that Richardson, who has been campaigning heavily for Obama, is telling his fellow Westerners.
    "We have a different view on the gun issue," Richardson acknowledged of Obama in a recent Journal interview. But "I say, most importantly: Obama is not going to take your guns. He supports the Second Amendment. He supports the rights of hunters and fishermen."
    Richardson conceded that, "On the gun issue, in New Mexico, McCain will have a slight advantage. But voters are becoming, less and less, one-issue voters. All those ranchers and (others) who are concerned about the gun issue are also concerned about the economy. That's where he's gonna get them."
    Obama was quoted in a Pittsburgh newspaper in April as saying, "I am not in favor of concealed weapons." A New Mexico Obama spokesman said Wednesday that Obama is not proposing any national legislation limiting the concealed carrying of firearms.
    "Senator Obama voted for a law in Illinois to allow retired police officers and military personal to carry concealed weapons and believes concealed carry law should be determined by state and local governments," said the spokesman, Carlos Sanchez.
    Obama, a senator from Illinois, voted against a 2005 bill to prohibit gun manufacturers and dealers from being sued over misuse of their products by others. McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, voted in favor of the measure.
    The two also split their votes — Obama for, McCain against — on a measure to expand the definition of armor-piercing ammunition.
    Obama and McCain also differ on the expired, 1994 assault weapons ban, which had overwhelming public support just before its expiration after a 10-year life span in 2004. While McCain voted against the assault weapons ban, Obama's Web site says Obama wants to make it permanent.
    Both candidates support expanding mandatory criminal background checks to include buyers at gun shows, which the NRA opposes.
    The NRA also has opposed McCain's signature campaign finance reform measure, which restricts advertising from special interest groups.
    "We have had two disagreements with Sen. McCain," the NRA's Arulanandam acknowledged. But "we would be foolish to ignore over 20 years of pro-gun votes McCain has passed."
    The Associated Press contributed to this report.