NRA Targets Obama, but Does Anyone Care?

Democrats are out to kill Second Amendment, says group

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is trying to bring together both sides in the debate over gun control for a series of meetings, but the NRA sees it as a waste of time. “Why should I or the NRA go sit down with a group of people that have spent a lifetime trying to destroy the Second Amendment in the United States?” NRA chief Wayne LaPierre asked the New York Times . Given the NRA's clout, the decision could doom the White House initiative. More»

Obama has faith the American people can find common ground

(NEWSER) - In the months since the Tucson shootings, 2,405 people have been shot dead , a fact President Obama laments in the Arizona Daily Star . How, he writes, was “a man our Army rejected as unfit for service; a man one of our colleges deemed too unstable for studies; a man apparently bent on violence … able to walk into a store and buy a gun”? The president makes it clear that he does not want to curtail our Second Amendment rights—and notes that his administration has in fact expanded the rights of gun owners—but he writes that something must be done to “keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few … from getting their hands on a gun.” More»

NRA not expecting a fight, say advocates

(NEWSER) - The Tucson shooting has prompted the drafting of a number of gun-control bills—but lawmakers don’t expect any major legislation to pass. In fact, insiders said, Congress is looking less likely than ever to step up regulation, reports New York Times , which notes that many members of Congress own firearms, and that Democrats, who tend to favor tougher gun laws, have increasingly backed away from the issue. “The fact is Congress has not done any gun legislation in years," says Rep. Peter King, a Republican who has proposed such a bill. More»

Fear of backlash keeps Dems timid on 2nd amendment

(NEWSER) - Gun-rights advocates who feared that the Obama presidency would mean the end of the Second Amendment have instead found the political climate surprisingly friendly, the Washington Independent reports. The Supreme Court and state legislatures alike have awarded victories to pro-gun forces, and federal lawmakers are wary of rocking the boat. Even though Democrats hold majorities, members of Congress remember the powerful right-wing backlash President Clinton's gun control efforts fueled. More»

Ex-governor has a packed speaking schedule

(NEWSER) - For someone not officially running for anything, Sarah Palin spends an awful lot of time running her mouth. Among highlights from yesterday's soundbite extravaganza, as reported by the AP :

• If Obama and the Dems thought they "could get away with it, they would ban guns and ban ammunition and gut the Second Amendment," Palin, a lifelong NRA member who once had a baby shower at a gun range in Alaska, told the NRA national convention. "It's the job of all of us to stop them in their tracks."