Ryan: Gun owners should fear an Obama re-election
Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and his wife Janna wave as they arrive to a campaign event, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012 in Derry, N.H. / AP Photo/Jim Cole
COLUMBUS, Ohio Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan courted the votes of hunters on Saturday in a speech to a sportsmen's group, suggesting that President Obama would seek to strip gun owners of their rights by appointing judges hostile to a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment.
"I shudder as a gun owner ... what would he do if he never has to face the voters ever again?" Ryan asked aloud during a speech to the National U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance's 16th Annual Save Our Heritage Banquet here.
"The next president is going to pick a lot of judges. The next president will appoint a lot of different judges and these are lifetime appointments. If you want to make sure that judges respect our Second Amendment rights, you need a president who respects those rights as well," he said.
Ryan likened gun ownership to religious liberty, suggesting that the federal government had intruded on people's First Amendment rights as well. He also stressed the importance of appointing people to government agencies who will "respect the rights of hunting and fishing," and said that the widely criticized Fast and Furious gunwalking operation "would never occur under a Romney-Ryan administration."
He also responded to claims by Vice President Joe Biden on Friday that he and Romney could raise taxes on seniors receiving Social Security. The Obama campaign has sought to argue that because various analyses of Romney's tax-cut plan suggest the tax burden would shift from wealthy to middle-class families, it is reasonable to assume that the shifted tax burden would fall on Social Security benefits.
But Romney has never said that he would raise taxes on Social Security benefits, and he has promised that he will not reduce Social Security benefits for current retirees. The Obama campaign has been making a similar argument using the Romney campaign's Medicare plan.
Ryan said his and Romney's plan makes no changes for those in or near retirement and that Biden himself had voted to raise taxes on seniors' benefits by supporting President Clinton's 1993 budget - tax increases that Obama voted to keep in place three times, he noted.
"Shame on the politician who wants to use this issue to try and scare seniors when those of us who are out there [are] trying to fix this problem for my generation and my kids' generation and your kids," Ryan said.
Responding to Ryan's comments, Obama campaign spokesman Danny Kanner noted that Republican Gov. John Kasich said in introducing the House Budget Committee chairman that Ohio has added 123,000 jobs since 2011 "and is moving forward. But rather than building on the progress we'vemade under President Obama, Mitt Romney and Congressman Ryan would take us back."
Ryan's appearance before the group Saturday evening underscores his role in the campaign as an ambassador to the middle class who better understands some traditions, such as hunting, with which Romney has less experience. Ryan is a former chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus for four years, and lauds the values he and his wife Janna have taught their children during hunting trips.
"You teach them patience, you teach them respect, you teach them conservation, the outdoors. You spend time with your kids," Ryan said.
Popular in Politics
- Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice" 435 Comments
- Major immigration overhaul passes first big test
- Top IRS official to invoke 5th Amendment at congressional testimony 131 Comments
- U.S. IDs several men possibly responsible for Benghazi attack
- Anthony Weiner comeback try begins: Running for NYC mayor
- Va. GOP candidate: Planned Parenthood "more lethal" for blacks than KKK 1204 Comments
- Obama: "Full focus" is on recovery from Oklahoma tornado 89 Comments
- IRS scandal highlights leadership vacancies
Don't focus on why you should not elect me, don't focus on my specific plans for any specifically stated problem; and don't focus on my partner who refuses to disclose his income tax statements. Unfortunately, we can no longer use Osama and the taliban as a focal point because my opponent has obliterated him.
Well, the only other thing I know you are very sensitive to is your guns! That's right, focus on the possibility of losing your guns! My opponent, if re-elected is going to take away your guns!
(whew! That aughta distract'em for the next several weeks.)
Since most polls have a margin of error of at least two or three points, that puts the two candidates well within the margin of error and means that the race is now tightening and not at all the way that you described!
And as for Romney getting "flustered", there was a time when Obama became flustered too! CNN showed a clip of it last night. It was in 2008 in one of the debates. There was a heated exchange between Obama and Hilary Clinton. It was very clear that there hasn't always been so much love between Obama and the Clintons!
Hilary made him angry and it very clearly showed in the debate by the tone of his voice and his body language. All Romney needs to do is exactly what Hilary did. He just needs to go on the attack from the start and put the pressure on Obama and keep it on. Obama will eventually get angry and will lose his "cool" just as he did in 2008.
This is something Romney is very good at because he did it to Rick Perry this last spring.
temperature who had been paying the slightest bit of attention, because
Obamas actions as a legislator spoke volumes about his feelings on the gun
issue. Senator Obamas statements on the campaign trail werent any more
reassuring. For example:
Obama opposed a bill in the Illinois legislature which would have protected
homeowners from weapons charges if they used an illegal gun in self-defense.
In a primary debate in 2008, Obama the candidate stated that the second
amendment confers an individual right, BUT (theres always but where the
second amendment is concerned) the fact that it is an individual right does
not mean that the state or local government cant constrain the exercise of
that right. In addition, for a supposed constitutional scholar to state that
the Bill of Rights confers rights, rather than protects pre-existing rights
is also worrisome.
When running for the Illinois senate in 1996, Obama most assuredly did fill
out a questionnaire (despite his later claims that a staffer did it) in
which he unequivocally supported a ban on the manufacture, sale and
possession of handguns, a ban on the possession of assault weapons and
waiting periods before purchasing a firearm.
Need I mention the whole bitter clingers episode?
Although he claimed to respect the second amendment, he also said that the
D.C. gun ban (banning all handguns and operable long guns) was
constitutional. When pressed for his rationale, he said there was nothing
wrong with a community establishing their own reasonable, thoughtful gun
control measure[s] while still respecting the second amendment. Did you
catch that? A complete ban is his idea of a reasonable gun control measure.
In the Illinois legislature, he supported licensing and registering gun
owners as a measure to keep unlawful guns off the street. This purported
constitutional scholar was apparently unaware that the supreme court has
ruled that criminals dont need to register (and cant be punished for failing
to register) their guns because it would be a violation of their right
against self-incrimination.
In 2000 Obama cosponsored a bill to limit gun purchases to one per month
and in 2003 he voted in favor of HB 2579 which had the same one gun per
month provision.
According to a Chicago Defender article in December of 1999, Obama is
proposing to make it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from
his residence which causes harm to another person if that weapon was not
securely stored in that home.
At an NAACP forum in 2007 Obama stated Weve got to make sure that
unscrupulous gun dealers arent loading up vans and dumping guns in our
communities, because we know theyre not made in our communities. What?!? Is
that what he really thinks? That federally licensed gun dealers are loading
up vehicles and selling guns out of the back in inner cities?
In the Illinois senate he supported a confiscatory assault weapons ban
which would have included semi-auto shotguns and even some pump, double and
single barrel shotguns.
As a Presidential candidate he called for passage of H.R. 6257, deceptively
titled Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008 which would have
explicitly banned far more weapons than the Clinton AWB.
As a Senator, Obama voted against prohibiting lawsuits against gun
manufacturers and voted in favor of an amendment to that bill which would
have banned most rifle ammunition, under the guise of banning armor-piercing
ammunition.
As a Senator Obama did not sign the amicus brief supporting the individual
rights view in Heller v. DC.
Obama voted to ban gun stores within five miles of a school or park, which
would have eliminated most gun stores in America.
He supported legislation to close the gun show loophole which would have
imprisoned show organizers if a single person at a show offered a gun for
sale privately.
As a Senator, Obama stated he supported a federal ban on concealed carry
laws and as a Presidential candidate he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review I
am not in favor of concealed weapons, Obama said. I think that creates a
potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during)
altercations.
You can hear Paul Ryan's blatant lies and read between the lines in this report to understand the hidden ones. There is no limit to what lies Mr. Ryan will tell to get himself and Mitt Romney into the White House so they can begin stripping our rights and benefits as American Citizens in favor of their political croneys and big money corporation friends.
I trust our good President to stand up for me as an American Citizen.
I trust Mitt and Paul no further than I can throw them.
Vote the GOP obstructionists out of office.
AMERICANS UNITE / VOTE THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET IN NOVEMBER
14% Black Unemployment Rate... Not seen since Carter left office, in 1979.
11% Latino Unemployment... It was 5.2% just five years ago.
16 Trillion Dollars and 1.2 Trillion Dollars wasted per year above and beyond what Bush blew. In fact, twice as much as Bush spent in eight years, but Soetoro did it in four.
And you want four more years?
Obama is a complete failure at new gun laws, Romney is a complete success.
Why would I vote for a successful gun banner like Romney?
If Obama does win, then I'll start donating to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action again. As far off the mark as they are today though, no way am I giving them any of my money!
Although I myself get tired of the mantra, "guns don't kill people, people kill people," it is true. As a society, we need to begin the process of identifying whack-jobs bent on mayhem. It is easy to pass useless gun control laws. It is quite another thing to actually tackle the problem of identifying those capable of doing mass harm.
The cause of the fire? Some one shot a gun. Apparently a gun owner was on a remote mountain road engaged in target practice. A spark from the fire arm started the fire. Although no homes were damaged, fire-fighting, especially in a remote area costs money. If California has a wet winter, we will also face floods and mudslide - amounting in more damage. Once again, the tax payer foots the bill.
Ryan stumps for gun owners' rights - but he forgets. With rights come responsibilities - such as not shooting a gun in areas with a high risk of fires. Why doesn't Ryan stress responsiblity to his gun-touting audience?
And, why must the tax payer pay for the damage caused by an irresonsible gun owner? What happened to individual responsibility?
Every time a gun owner starts a fire, let's bill the NRA. Make the NRA pay for all the damages. Then and only then will the NRA promote responsible gun ownership.
conservative or reservative
republican, democrat,
catholic or
baptist, catholic,
autocrat or aristocrat,
puritan or saint.
I don't think he is qualified, just that pure and simple.