Exclusive: Obama, Clinton Make Closing Arguments as Montana Primary Looms
With Montana’s June 3 primary election approaching, the Beacon interviewed Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama May 24, and Hillary Clinton May 26, via phone, while the senators campaigned in Puerto Rico, on issues ranging from gun rights to federal land management. Here is the transcript of those interviews:
Q: Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has said he is skeptical a Democrat can beat John McCain here because of a real or perceived weakness on gun rights. Do you think Gov. Schweitzer is correct and how do you reconcile any need for gun law reforms in urban areas with the anxiety many Westerners may feel that their Second Amendment rights may be trampled?
Obama: Well I think you just identified exactly the argument that has to be made. And that is that we have two realities when it comes to guns in this country. You’ve got illegal guns landing on the streets in the hands of gang-bangers in places like Chicago where children have been shot on the streets in astonishing numbers, and then you’ve got law abiding gun owners who are hunting, and sportsmen, and keeping a gun in the house to protect their family, and who have a tradition of lawful gun ownership dating back generations. It’s part of a way of life. The key is to reconcile those two realities.
The voters of Montana need to understand that I believe in the Second Amendment, I believe it is an individual right and I will not encroach on their right to get firearms and to do everything that they’re doing right now. What I do want to see is better enforcement when it comes to handguns that are pouring into the streets of urban centers and that means better background checks, it means being able to trace guns that are used in crimes back to gun dealers that may be violating our laws. It means closing the gun show loophole. Those are, I think, some common sense regulations that in no way will impede on the ability of lawful gun owners in Montana or anywhere else in the country from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Clinton: Well, I believe strongly in the Second Amendment and the right for responsible gun ownership. Obviously hunting and fishing are traditions that are especially important to generations of Montanans and I think it’s important too that we look to strike the right balance that doesn’t in any way infringe on the rights of lawful gun owners but endeavors to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and gang members and people who, unfortunately, have been adjudicated as in some way mentally fragile or disabled. And I don’t see any contradiction between those two very important goals. So I’m going to work to preserve and promote responsible gun ownership. I want to make sure we preserve access to public lands for hunting and fishing and I want to see if we can support law enforcement in a constitutional manner to try to make sure that guns don’t fall into the wrong hands.
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/exclusive_obama_clinton_make_closing_arguments/3662/I support Obama, but I think both he and Clinton, are making a serious mistake.
Both are being far too vague, and not saying all the right words.
Obama needs to publicly say "I will not push any weapons bans of any kind".
If people believe that either of them will go after a certain class of weapons, that it will not happen needs to be clearly and unequivocally stated. Saying "I support the second amendment" just isn't enough. One can only hope that Heller will render that issue dead - I know I do.
Beyond that, regardless of which gets the nomination, whoever gets it is going to be taken to task on thier voting record, and stance they on the now pending Heller , and right or wrong, it is going to hurt. Theres just no spinning away of, or hiding from, ones voting record.
They would both do well to mitigate it in some significant meaningful less vague way.
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