Obamanation: The Shades of 1992 return to haunt us

By Tim Inwood

It is not often a man gets to relive parts of his youth, more than a fifteen years after the first event, but in the aftermath of the November elections I am seeing something I experienced when I was 29 years old.

Most men would be delighted to be reminded of their younger days, but to be honest I am very saddened by this. What is this phenomenon I am reliving? Long lines and panic buying at gun-shows.

Not since the nightmare days following the election of Bill Clinton have I seen anything like it. People standing in the cold, rain and snow for hours, knowing little will be left inside when they get in… It is a sad comment, when a national election frightens such large portion of the population.

Clearly the election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with a large numbers of anti-gun Democrats to the US Congress has inspired just that. Americans by the millions are flocking to gun shops and gun shows buying what they can, while they can. The BATF says NICs checks are up 49% since the election. It is depressing to see so many afraid of their government and the ultimate truth of the situation, that they see this election as a threat to their freedom and civil rights.

The President-elect was asked to comment on this trend and seemed surprised by it. He said there was no need for people to do this.

“I believe in common-sense gun safety laws, and I believe in the Second Amendment…Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven't indicated anything different during the transition. I think people can take me at my word." However we know the President-elect is not being up front with us. His own website laid out his intent to ban firearms, but we will touch on that later.

Even Peter Hamm, at the Brady Campaign, tried to tell folks there was no need to panic or buy a gun. He said "Anyone who thinks they need to rush out and buy a firearm clearly has not been paying attention to how quickly we make progress on this issue. We don't think these are first-time buyers. We think they are people who already have more than enough guns at their homes to protect themselves and are buying more."

I found Hamm’s words amusing, and revealing as he makes clear they do intend act, but we should not be worried as it will go slowly...right. Anyone who has passed near the Brady’s HQ will tell you there has been a non-stop wild party since election night. Sarah Brady has put out fundraising letters gushing about how she has been promised fast-track legislation to outlaw all private gun sales. Not just closing the gun show loophole, mind you, but making it illegal for you or me to make a private sale to friends and family period. They have of course couched this sales pitch in how we need to make sure all gun sales go through the NICS check system to make sure the purchaser qualifies. However, our spies in the anti-gun camp will tell you the real reason motivating this is that if there are more gun transactions that go through NICS checks and on to a form 4473, then the easier it is to locate those guns later in the event they ever finagle a national gun confiscation.

Wait a minute you say, confiscation? Did we not just get the Heller decision? Indeed we did my friends, and the reaction of and treatment of the decision by the city government in Washington D.C. tells us exactly how the anti-gun forces in this nation view the ruling. Despite being told by the U.S. Supreme Court to let Mr. Heller register his guns, a defiant Mayor Fenty and his city bureaucracy has only allowed the registration of revolvers and single-shot pistols.

These anti-gun zealots are clearly defying the law, and Mr. Heller is again suing the city to register his 1911 .45 pistol. Astoundingly that and all semi-auto firearms currently remain defined as an illegal machine guns by the idiots in the City Government of the District of Columbia, who want to redefine the meaning of words.

You see, in the view of Sarah Brady and those like her, much is still possible in the wake of the Heller case. In their minds they could confiscate 95% of the firearms in the U.S.A. and allow citizens to own a single-shot .22 rifle, a single-shot .22 pistol and a single-shot shotgun and they would say they have honored the spirit of the Second Amendment and the Heller ruling from the Supreme Court. With that in mind, is it any surprise the prohibitionists are pushing for ending private sales and increasing registrations?

However, that is not the end of their ambition. No, my friends, they have had to swallow defeat after defeat at the hands of the gun-rights groups for the last eight years. They want revenge and to regain lost ground. There is talk of a 500% ammo tax, and to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment for starts. Their sights are also set on banning magazines for rifles and pistols holding more than 10 rounds. They want to bring back the Clinton semi-auto ban, but they want to make it comprehensive and expand it as well as make it permanent this time. No ten-year sunset is planned for this bill; it’s forever. We know this because they have said so, and sadly they have a new Administration who wants to help them make it a reality.

Obama may say gun owners have nothing to fear, but it was his own words on Change.gov - the Obama transition teams website - that told the truth of the matter. The direct quote from the website was this:

“Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.”

My friends we know 2009 will be a rough year. Our opposition has made it clear they are coming at us, and soon. The people who have done their best to erode our gun rights have their best shot at doing that right now, and despite the economic difficulties and other serious issues facing our country, they are hell-bent on making new gun control laws issue one. They expect fast tracking of their legislation to get as much done as soon as possible. We know this because Sarah Brady herself told us she has been promised the Democrats will be so. They have the White House, the power of the Executive Order and the largest number of anti-gun Democrats I have ever seen in the U.S. Capitol occupying the Congress.

The best thing we can do is remain vigilant and in contact with our Representative and Senators. Make clear to them your support and vote in 2010 will be strongly driven by how they vote on the gun issue.

Next my friends, you need to make sure those who represent our interests in Washington D.C. and in our State Capitols remain strong. I urge you keep your membership in the National Rifle Association as well as Gun Owners of America up to date. You might also consider joining The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms. While you are at it, don’t forget to help Buckeye Firearms Association. We need your help so we can continue to represent your views in Columbus. We have made great progress over the last five years, but we are hardly done fixing the flaws in our CCW law. The State House is a less friendly place starting next year, so we will need you to stand with us.

I know membership in all these groups is expensive, but there again so is seeing your expensive firearms turned into scrap. Don’t let your rights die. Stay in the fight, for as long as we continue to do battle with our rivals for our rights, the tyrants will not prevail.

Tim Inwood is the current Legislative Liaison and Past President of the Clinton County Farmers and Sportsmen Association, an Endowment Member of the NRA and Life Member of the OGCA, Republican Central Committeeman for Chester Township A, in Clinton County, Ohio, and a volunteer for Buckeye Firearms Association.