Will Obama Take My Guns?

I am certainly not a rabid gun nut, but I do have a few guns for sport and play. I have a neat Beretta 22 target pistol, a S&W 9mm, a couple of 22 rifles for plinking things and, the gun I am most proud of, an old Winchester Model 12, 12 gauge shotgun my granddad handed down to me. I am fond of having guns around - should I be worried about a President Obama "taking my guns" from me?

The Democratic Party Platform, adopted by Obama, says (emphasis added is mine):

"Firearms
We recognize that the right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we
will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that
the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, but we know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact and enforce commonsense laws and improvements – like closing the gun show loophole, improving our background check system, and reinstating the assault weapons ban, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Acting responsibly and with respect for differing views on this issue, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe."

So, I think the above sums up what Obama's voting record has consistently said, he is not about taking away the guns of American's but he is not about free and open anything goes gun ownership either.

It looks like we can expect to see legislation "closing the gun show loophole" whereby requiring gun show firearm sales to require participation in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS). No big deal really. I bought my Beretta pistol just a few months ago. The time to fill out the papers and have the background check performed was probably less than 10 minutes. I know, we don't want more government intrusion and all, but this NCIS check already happens in every gun store in the US everyday, so expanding it to the gun show isn't a big reach intrusion.

Also, there will quite likely be an attempt to reinstate the assault weapon ban. Some may favor this ban under the thought that, "no one needs that type of gun", "those guns aren't for sport", etc. I think this could be construed as letting the camel get his nose in the tent legislation, possibly leading to further gun control if the outcry isn't imposing enough. Some studies have also indicted that not much difference was noted in crime activity and homicide rates as the result of the assault weapon ban.

It seems I recall that the last time this legislation passed in 1994, it led to the GOP gaining seats in the House and Senate in the next election. So, Obama may think twice about how badly he really wants this ban reinstated versus how badly he wants to hold the majority in Congress. We gun nuts want stand to have our guns taken away...