November 07, 2008

"Alternative" Gun Owners

So I was sitting in the bar at the Chicago Hilton Towers last Monday, amid the building "buzz" for the Obama victory rally, when the talk turned to his stand on the Second Amendment.

My friend who heads the Women's Studies program at a California university surprised me by telling me that she owned a handgun for protection -- which only goes to show, the typical gun owner is not always who you think s/he is.

She said that she hoped President Obama will be "educable" on the issue.

5 comments:

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

Obama's public stance on the Second Amendment was presciently almost identical to that of the U.S. Supreme Court in its recent landmark Heller decision which recognized an individual right to bear arms for self-defense subject to reasonable regulation.

Chas S. Clifton said...

Unfortunately, as a legislator and senator, he voted for every gun control measure that came across his desk and has a real problem with concealed-carry.

But maybe he will be educable. Or at least he will read the political tea leaves. We can hope.

I remain unconvinced that he recognizes self-defense as a human right.

LabRat said...

Not so prescient, either. Before the decision, his campaign claimed he agreed with the D.C. law. They had a "these are not the droids you're looking for" moment immediately afterward claiming the first statement had been "inartful".

Holly Heyser said...

I'm not a fan of Obama's positions on guns OR hunters, but I do know he was not elected king, so I'm not shaking in my boots. The subject of this post is one reason why.

This summer, I interviewed former NRA lobbyist (and now NRA persona non grata) Richard Feldman, and he told me there are 10 million gun owners in America who self-identify as liberals.

Another survey I came across this year reported that 11 percent of hunters and anglers self-identify as liberal. That's still much lower than the general population figure (20 percent), but it says that liberal lawmakers need to understand that some of their voters own guns and hunt, and don't want those freedoms taken away.

The biggest problem is that gun owners and hunters, as a bloc, often vilify liberals and anyone in their circles who supports liberals, and I just think that's not productive at all. Particularly with Washington D.C. looking so blue at the moment.

Chas S. Clifton said...

I'm sure you are right about the numbers. That is why I wish that some readers would actually click the link and respond to it too!