"Open-Carry" gun nuts VIDEO + Jim Webb WAS For Closing The Gun Show Loophole

By GottaLaff

A victory for gun control advocates today:

(CNN)– House Democratic leaders have killed a bill that would have given Washington, DC a voting representative in Congress because the measure included a provision that would have wiped out the District's strict gun laws.

Taxation with representation on the condition of lax gun laws? Not so much.

A close friend of TPC had a victory of his own. Our own Cliff Schecter (who founded this blog and happens to be my mentor), together with families of those massacred at Virginia Tech, played a roll in discouraging the D.C. powers from passing the bill.

Background on the shooting:

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on Monday, April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many others^[1] before committing suicide. The massacre is the deadliest peacetime shooting incident by a single gunman in United States history, on or off a school campus.^[2] [...]

It sparked intense debate about gun violence, gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator's state of mind, the responsibility of college administrations,^[5] privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. [...] The massacre prompted the state of Virginia to close legal loopholes that had previously allowed Cho, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns without detection by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It also led to passage of the first major federal gun control measure in more than 13 years.

Now for the inevitable Big H: However...

Jim Webb was "outed", if you will, by these very same Virginia Tech families. He made a promise to them that he has broken; at least that's sure how they are feeling. And he's not exactly denying it.

Webb told the family members he was for closing the gun show loophole. He has yet to do that after 10 months.

The 3rd anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre just passed.

The 11th anniversary of Columbine is also upon us.

Here is Webb's strong private statement to the Virginia Tech Families:

A group that includes victims of the Virginia Tech massacre and their families said Monday that Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia) met privately with them and gave his commitment to support a federal law requiring that buyers at gun shows undergo background checks before purchasing firearms.

Compare that to his much weaker public statement:

Will Jenkins, a spokesman for Webb, has sent the following statement. It does not directly address whether Webb supports closing the gun-show loophole: "Senator Webb is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. He also believes that appropriate laws and procedures should be kept in place to ensure that guns should be kept out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. He will continue to work with his colleagues in the Senate toward both ends," Jenkins wrote. [...]

Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Warner, has responded as well. Like Jenkins, he did not directly address the gun show issue. "Senator Warner has a record of supporting Second Amendment rights and he will weigh any future proposals that come before the full Senate. He also will continue to work for full funding to make sure the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is complete and up-to-date - improvements that were mandated by Congress following the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy," he wrote in a statement.

As a result, ads have been launched in several states, taking aim (no pun) at Jim Webb and Mark Warner. Here is one:




Credit goes to Cliff Schecter, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), and a big hat tip to Virginians for Public Safety and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, for their efforts.

Cliff and CSGV produced this video. It made a difference:




Thank you, Cliff and Virginia Tech relatives for your push to get a bad law dumped. You showed Congress what it could look like if some very unstable people with extreme views were allowed to carry assault weapons openly in the streets.

Here is the website gun show loophole petition and a press release. Please go sign, I did.

VIDEO: FBI raids counties tied to Michigan militia group

By GottaLaff

Remember that Department of Homeland Security report that warned us about extremists?

So do I:

The violent right, however, is a particularly difficult problem for law enforcement. Since the early 1990s, the movement's theorists have promulgated the concept of the "unorganized resistance" conducted by "lone wolves." It's a tactic meant to prevent believers from joining organizations that undercover law enforcement agents might infiltrate. Adherents are urged to keep to themselves, to use the Internet to inform themselves and to avoid rallies where they might be photographed. They're also urged to act on their own.

At the same time, American extremists have the benefit of our lax gun laws. In most countries, would-be terrorists need to join groups in order to secure arms. Here, they can buy them by the carload at a nearby gun store. The NRA is the lone wolves' best friend.

All my previous posts on the report can be found here.

With that in mind, check out the not-Muslim, not-foreigners who are being raided:

The FBI conducted raids Saturday night in Washtenaw County and Lenawee County in an investigation involving members of Hutaree, a Christian-oriented militia group based in Lenawee County, AnnArbor.com has learned.

Other areas have been raided, too, but it is not clear if they are related. The Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Terrorism Task Force are all involved in the raids, and several arrests have been made.



Not a very comforting report, is it?

Once again, we are reminded of the 1990s, Waco, and Tim McVeigh. The climate is unsettling, and the language used by Tea Baggers, Republicans, and even our own Congress members is not helping. Nor are the attacks, both physical and verbal.

We need to hang on to reason and conversation. A lot of citizens are feeling very threatened, whether it's their fear of becoming a white minority, or genuine concerns about financial burdens, taxes, health care, the list goes on.

Whatever the issues are, violence is not the answer. The media and our government officials need to step forward and take the lead in strong denunciation of the irrational actions and words that have become all too prevalent of late.

Doonesbury: Paranoid, Armed Rednecks Hopped Up on Espresso edition

By GottaLaff

And the Starbucks story arc continues:

(click on image to enlarge)

Doonesbury: Guns at Starbucks edition

By GottaLaff

Hey kids! It's Garry Trudeau time!

(click on image to enlarge)

The deadly loophole: Gunning for trouble

By GottaLaff

Hey kiddies, guess what? Another mentally unbalanced person got their hands on a gun because of guess what?

Go on, guess.

Give up?

The gun show loophole! Yayyy!

Yes, the right wing, anti-government Pentagon shooter, John Patrick Bedell, got his gun at a gun show through the gun show loophole, with no background check. Feel safer yet?

QuickDraw McLoopHole had already been declared too, er, abnormal to buy one through a federally licensed dealer, but pfft! That didn't matter:

Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.

Wow, hmm, gee, how'd that happen?

[O]n the day of the Pentagon shooting, March 4, the Tennessee governor signed legislation revising state law on confiscated guns. Before, law enforcement agencies in the state had the option of destroying a gun. Under the new version, agencies can only destroy a gun if it's inoperable or unsafe.

Seems Version 2.0 needs to be updated.

But with that in mind, it's only natural that oversight would tighten up, right?

[...] 24 states — mostly in the South and West, where gun-rights advocates are particularly strong — have passed 47 new laws loosening gun restrictions.

Gee, that doesn't seem logical. Oops, did I say "logical"? Logic has nothing to do with this!

What, am I nuts?

No, but QuickDraw was:

[T]he weapons first went to licensed gun dealers, but later came into the hands of men who were legally barred from possessing them: one a convicted felon; the other mentally ill.

Change we can't believe in.

But come on, realistically, what are the chances of some psycho ending up finding that one special dealer who would slip him a lethal weapon:

Law enforcement officials say Bedell, a man with a history of severe psychiatric problems, had been sent a letter by California authorities Jan. 10 telling him he was prohibited from buying a gun because of his mental history.

Nineteen days later, the officials say, Bedell bought the Ruger at a gun show in Las Vegas. Such a sale by a private individual does not require the kind of background check that would have stopped Bedell's purchase.

But privatizing stuff is the GOP's answer to everything. What could possible go wrong? Death? Don't be silly. Murder? Ridiculous! Selling lethal weapons to a disturbed individual who would subsequently go on a shooting spree? Impossible!

Here's the deal, gun owners: Nobody's trying to take your firearms from you. But keeping them out of the hands of unstable felons and the mentally ill doesn't do anything to threaten your freedoms.

The real and growing threat is to innocent lives, not the Constitution.

Gun Watch: We Need a Committee for the Right to Keep and Arm Bears

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash via my pal, Mark Karlin:

Attached to the so-called credit card reform bill [...] was [...] a special interest amendment moved along by the NRA and its puppets. It allows, as of Monday, gun toters to carry their guns, including Handguns, into National Parks as long as they are in compliance with state law, as if any park ranger is going to check that one out.

[...] Now the sound of gunfire will have to be added to future filming amidst the majestic sounds of wildlife.

Ironically and reflective of the backwards state of American politics, violence in National Parks has gone down in recent years. [...]

Frankly, at BuzzFlash, we are thinking of starting a Committee for the Right to Keep and Arm Bears. They are going to need firepower now, as well as providing bullet proof vests to park visitors. Protect people and the wildlife; that's what Congress should be doing, instead of the bidding of the NRA.

You can read the whole thing here.

Gun point

By GottaLaff

I read this letter to the editor in today's L.A. Times. I'd never seen the argument expressed quite this way before, and it made a lot of sense:

Guns, gun rights -- and 4 dead

Re “Crazy about guns,” Editorial, Dec. 1, and “Four police officers slain in Seattle-area ambush,” Nov. 30

After previous mass murders, the anti-gun-control advocates often argued that if the victims had guns, the number killed could be limited because gun-toting honest citizens would blaze away and stop the criminal. Now that four police officers -- all well trained, armed and wearing bulletproof vests -- have been killed, have we heard the last of that argument?

Bang.

Colorado's Udall & Bennett- Classic Blue Dog Puppets

Man, Colorado sure got the short end of the stick in this last go round. Udall and Bennett are continuing in the fine tradition of spineless NRA hos with this last vote (even my Hoosier Republican didn't vote for the stupid gun carry bill), and for the looks of it, they're going to be schlepping right along the Blue Dog lane on all the other votes that matter to true Democrats. Take a minute and check out this ad placed by Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and if you are so moved, make some phone calls, especially if you are a Colorado citizen. They all need to know we're watching.

Also, let me remind anyone that is of a thought to go and check out FDL's Whip Count and call your Representatives. The Progressive Caucus is having a presser at 230p EST, and they need all the leverage they can get.

Raw VIDEO: Senate Rejects Concealed Arms Bill

By GottaLaff

Original post here:

In a rare win for gun control advocates, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a measure allowing a person with a concealed weapon permit in one state to also hide his firearm when visiting another state. (July 22)

H/t: rhondadavis28

Hatred and the far right

By GottaLaff

Nightmare, indeed:

We're not talking here about mere conservative Republicans. This is the lunatic right, for whom the election of Barack Obama was much more than a political defeat: It was a racial and existential nightmare. If he can succeed, if no catastrophe or deprivation of rights ensues, then these people have feared and plotted and hated in vain. [...]

Still, it's clear that something is stirring this peculiarly American cesspool in ways that haven't occurred since the mid-1990s, when an upsurge in activity among so-called militia groups culminated in the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, the deadliest terrorist incident on American soil until 9/11.

Rumors that the new Obama administration secretly planned to seize people's firearms surged through the Internet, which nowadays links extremists like a kind of fevered nervous system, and fueled a run on gun stores that stock assault weapons. [...]

The violent right, however, is a particularly difficult problem for law enforcement. Since the early 1990s, the movement's theorists have promulgated the concept of the "unorganized resistance" conducted by "lone wolves." It's a tactic meant to prevent believers from joining organizations that undercover law enforcement agents might infiltrate. Adherents are urged to keep to themselves, to use the Internet to inform themselves and to avoid rallies where they might be photographed. They're also urged to act on their own.

At the same time, American extremists have the benefit of our lax gun laws. In most countries, would-be terrorists need to join groups in order to secure arms. Here, they can buy them by the carload at a nearby gun store. The NRA is the lone wolves' best friend.

Two months ago, the Republican National Committee and many conservative commentators went into paroxysms of rage over a report by the Department of Homeland Security drawing attention to the potential terrorist threat of resurgent right-wing extremism. The department ended up apologizing for noting the extremist underground's attempts to recruit returning military personnel. (All three of the men involved in the Oklahoma City bombing met and developed their convictions while serving in the Army.) As the body count mounts, the department may want to reconsider that apology.

Hate means never having to say you're sorry.

Praying for firearms: Church to hold gun service, would "nauseate Jesus"

By GottaLaff

Nothing says Christian family values, peace, and sweet Jesus love like church-sanctioned ownership of firearms and blood-spattered images proselytizing same:

A Valley Station Road church is sponsoring an "Open Carry Church Service" in late June, encouraging people to wear unloaded guns in their holsters, enter a raffle to win a free handgun, hear patriotic music and listen to talks by operators of gun stores and firing ranges.

Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church said the first-time event is "basically trying to think a little bit outside the box" to promote "responsible gun ownership and 2nd Amendment rights."

The event, slated for late Saturday afternoon, June 27, is being promoted with online posters, including one using a red font resembling splattered blood with the words: "Open Carry Church Service."

Pagano said the poster wasn't intended to glorify bloodshed and that the lettering was just "a font that somebody developed."

Well then, a-f'ing-men and hallelujah! Freedom of Font!

"There are people who own firearms and do so responsibly and enjoy them as a sport, maybe like golfing or bowling."

Or shooting OB-GYNs. And no, I am not against gun ownership. I'm against murder.

Some worry about the message that is being sent.

"Even if I were perfectly comfortable with open-carry handguns or gun rights, it seems to me a completely whole other thing to connect those rights to Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Jerry Cappel, president of the Kentuckiana Interfaith Community, a coalition of local leaders from various religions.

Tying in the event "with one who explicitly called us to put down the sword and pick up the cross and love our enemies and turn the other cheek, it just makes no sense," he said.

Gee, ya think?

The Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper of Lexington, who has lobbied against laws such as one allowing citizens with permits to carry concealed weapons, said the event "would nauseate Jesus."

I can relate.

Pagano said the event was planned several months ago — long before Sunday's shooting death of an abortion doctor at his Kansas church refocused attention on, among other things, churches and guns. [...]

Pagano said a major impetus for the event was concern among many gun-rights advocates about then-presidential candidate Obama's legislative record in favor of some firearms restrictions — despite Obama's attempt to reassure gun owners.

So-o-o, a church went all political on us. Again.

I wonder if Jesus would have run for office. My feeling is that he'd be one hell of a fundraiser.

Sotomayor gets boost from two conservative judges

By GottaLaff

Judge Sotomayor wants to take our guns away! Lock up the stash! Hide the buckshot!

Wait. What's that I hear? Well, lookee here NRA and the half-cocked (pun intended) Rushpublic Party of Blockage: A 7th Circuit ruling backed Chicago gun restrictions, and gave a little boosteroony to the Sotomayor nomination in the process. Two conservative-- yes, two; yes, conservative-- judges ruled the way she did":

Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s best defense against firearms owners mobilizing to oppose her U.S. Supreme Court nomination may come from an unlikely source: two top conservatives on the federal bench.

Sotomayor was labeled “anti-gun” by Gun Owners of America for refusing to extend to the states the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision overturning a Washington, D.C., handgun ban. The group said a January ruling by a three-judge panel that included Sotomayor displayed “pure judicial arrogance” for declining to throw out a New York state weapons law.

Today, Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook, appointed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago by President Ronald Reagan, took the same hands-off as Sotomayor.

Damn. Don'tcha hate when that happens?

They joined a 3-0 ruling that upheld weapons ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park, Illinois, and rejected challenges by gun rights advocates.

Them judges better hightail it outta there. Before they know it a posse'll come a-gunnin' for 'em. (Pun intended)

“The Supreme Court has rebuffed requests to apply the Second Amendment to the states,” Easterbrook wrote for the three-judge court.

There goes that wacky Easterbrook. Doesn't he realize he was a Reagan appointee? Crazy, radical activist judge!

“It’s nice to have two leading conservative judges” for support, said Washington lawyer Patricia Millett, a Supreme Court specialist. It “will really take the steam” out of accusations Sotomayor, 54, is hostile to gun rights, she said.

Whaddya wanna bet the two conservative judges have that empathy thing going for 'em, too...

VIDEO- Thoughts on President Obama from the NRA convention

Pretty much as you'd expect, with John McCain's doing his bit to stoke the flames.

Steele: We Need Guns To Defend Ourselves Against ‘Terrorists’ Coming To ‘Our Communities’

By GottaLaff

I am an anti-American Marxist, Commie, Socialist, gay abortionist who wants your guns, your religion, your government, your money, your unborn baby, your guns... hell, I want it all:

Today, RNC Chairman Michael Steele spoke at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) “Celebration of American Values” Leadership Forum. During his speech today, Steele criticized Barack Obama’s potential Supreme Court nominee, saying the President is “looking to put Doctor Phil on the Court.”

Steele also played to his NRA audience by fear-mongering that Democrats may take away Americans’ guns. He claimed that those guns are more necessary than ever since Guantanamo detainees may soon be in the United States and the public will have to defend itself:

It is ironic, to say the least, that at the same time Democrats in Congress are threatening to deny Americans their second amendment right to own a firearm and defend their families and homes, they are considering bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other Al Qaeda detainees to our communities once the President follows through on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay.

[...] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said yesterday on Fox News. “We don’t want them in our jails.” (Of couse, Guantanamo detainees transferred to the U.S. for trials would actually be housed in federal prisons, where dozens of dangerous terrorists are already held. In fact, the U.S. has already successfully prosecuted 145 terrorism cases in federal court, a sharp contrast to the series of debacles in Guantanamo prosecutions.) [...]

Just two years ago, Steele came out forcefully against assault weapons, saying that they were “overkill.” “If you want to talk about gun control, that’s where you need to start,” said Steele. “We’ve got 300 gun laws on the books right now. At the end of the day, it’s about how we enforce the law.” However, a few months ago he changed his mind and said that a ban on assault weapons was just the first step in the Obama administration’s plan “repeal the 2nd Amendment.”

Let's put it this way: I want the guns of anyone who sounds as crazy as these wackos do.

New feature- Fact Check Weekly

I keep on wanting to do this, but forget, so today I'll really do it. I get an email from Fact Check every week with questions that have been posed to them for debunking or correcting. I find them reflective of the stupid crap that floats around the intertubes.

Q: Would the "hate crimes" bill make it a crime to denounce homosexuality from the pulpit and give legal protection to pedophiles?
A: No on both counts. The First Amendment is still operative, and pedophiles would get no breaks under this bill.

Q: Did Obama accuse veterans of "selfishness" and whining? Would he have forced them to "pay for their war injuries"?
A: This chain e-mail contains fabricated quotes and misrepresents a budget idea that the White House scrapped.

Q: Did gun control in Australia lead to more murders there last year?
A: This 'Gun History Lesson' is recycled bunk from a decade ago. Murders in Australia actually are down to record lows.

Funny thing is that you can hear all of this repeated as truth on Fox News any day of the week.

Right-wing’s false claims that Obama will take away guns helps fuel panic buying of firearms

By GottaLaff

Yesterday's post about Richard Poplawski (the Pittsburgh shooter) committing murders based on his misguided notion that Obama would take away his Second Amendment rights, sent shivers up and down our spines. Here's a disturbing visual that won't help remedy those fears, not by a long shot (no pun):

(click on image to enlarge)

Gee, where could these nutjobs be getting these ideas? Oh yeah:

In a presciently-timed op-ed, Charles Blow warns of the disturbing escalating rhetoric of right-wingers like Chuck Norris, Michele Bachmann, Glenn Beck, and others.

President Obama has gone out of his way to publicly defend gun ownership and the U.S. Constitution. These twisted, irrational talking points are purely political, dangerously extreme, and have had tragic and deadly consequences.

Why irresponsible incitement to violence hasn't been addressed fully and fairly in the media and immediately corrected is beyond my comprehension.

Once and for all, this is not infotainment, it's life and death.

Shooter thought Obama would ban guns

By GottaLaff

Remember, everyone: If you think there is a law about to be passed that affects you, break it before it takes hold. If that means mass murder, so be it:

Police did not immediately release the gunman's identity, but his friends identified him as Richard Poplawski, 23. They described him as a young man who thought the Obama administration would ban guns.

One friend, Edward Perkovic, said Poplawski feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon." Another longtime friend, Aaron Vire, said Poplawski feared that President Obama was going to take away his rights, though he said he "wasn't violently against Obama."

Problem? Solution: Bang, bang. Problem solved. And now he's so dead he won't be able to see the error (understatement) of his ways/logic. [Laffy Note--CORRECTION: He is not dead. Getting my shooters mixed up. Plus, as Paddy just pointed out, the text of the article I quoted here has changed, too. All of it's a bit confusing, but I made my point.]

Then again, he had no ability to reason.

To make matters worse, this is typical of how some people see the president and his policies, despite how many times he's explained them. It's criminal... literally.

Just shoot me: Rifle maker bounces boss who announced Obama support

By GottaLaff

I cannot tolerate intolerance:

Montana gunsmith Dan Cooper has been ousted as chief executive of the rifle company that bears his name after pressure from gun owners who are angry that he is supporting Democrat Barack Obama.

Cooper, founder and part owner of Cooper Firearms, told USA TODAY in a story published Tuesday that he has voted for Republicans for most of his life, but he is backing Obama "probably because of the war. And also because the Republican Party has moved so far right in recent years." Cooper said he was attracted to the Democrat's message about "the retooling of America, which involves the building of middle-class jobs and helping American small business be competitive with those overseas." [...]

Many gun enthusiasts believe Obama will try to restrict their right to bear arms, although he has said he respects the Second Amendment.

In a portion of the interview that was not included in Tuesday's story, Cooper said, "I don't believe that what's being said about Obama and his policies about guns are accurate. I have had a conversation with the senator … he is a stanch supporter of the right to hunt and the right to bear arms."

The company posted a statement Wednesday night on its website that said:

"The employees, shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper. Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms. The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President." [...]

"It's a really McCarthyism at its worst," said Bob Ricker, executive director of the American Hunters and Shooters Association, which has endorsed Obama. "That's really why our organization was formed, was to deal with this craziness. If you're a gun owner, but you have a contrary view to some of these wackos, they will go out and try to destroy you."

Who turned back the clock to the '50s? Free country, my ass. Your turn.

John Sidney McCain's Top Advisor Lobbied Against Bill to Keep Guns From Terrorists

By GottaLaff

Let us not forget J Sid's bff Randy Scheunemann in all the din and wacky fun of the Democratic convention:

We knew Randy Scheunemann, John McCain's top foreign policy adviser, was into guns. After all, in 1997 he was arrested for having a shotgun and several rounds of ammunition in his car on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. And in addition to his extensive lobbying work on behalf of former Soviet bloc countries, he's also a longtime lobbyist for gun-rights groups. But it now looks like, for Scheunemann, doing the bidding of the gun lobby takes precedence over efforts to combat terrorism.

Newsweek reports that, according to registration documents filed by Scheuenemann's lobbying firm, Orion Strategies, Scheunemann lobbied on behalf of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) against a bill that aims to close a gun-control loophole that inhibits the government from stopping people on terrorist watch-lists from buying guns. According to Newsweek, "the bill was inspired by an official audit covering a five-month period in 2004 which found that, because of the loophole, the Feds had to greenlight 35 out of 44 cases where a gun buyer was on a terrorist watch list." [...]

Sen. McCain has not taken a position on the bill. His campaign would not tell Newsweek whether he supports it, or whether Scheunemann had ever lobbied McCain on gun-control issues.

Tell me again why we are not calling him out on this? Loudly? From the rooftops?

Or not...

By GottaLaff

They spoke too soon:

The Republican National Committee and John McCain's campaign seized on the ruling and used it to frame Democrat Barack Obama as a radical liberal on the issue of gun rights, in the first step toward a media and advertising push in more rural battleground states that “highlights that Barack Obama is the most anti gun candidate in American presidential history,” according to RNC spokesman Danny Diaz.

Obama:

In regard to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, the Obama campaign released a statement saying, "As president, Barack Obama will continue to respect the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, and for voters who have concerns about this issue, they will find real comfort in Sen. Obama’s record. But when it comes to health care and energy and other economic issues that many gun owners care about, Barack Obama offers a fundamental change, while John McCain offers more of the same."

McCain v. Obama:

McCain was one of 55 lawmakers who signed a “friend of the court” brief opposing the D.C. gun ban. Obama, who did not sign the document, has refused throughout the presidential campaign to clarify his stand on the D.C. ban despite persistent questions from reporters. Obama has said in the past, however, that he supports an individual right to bear arms.

The Supreme's decision gets a response:

Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe, an expert in constitutional law, said Thursday's ruling was the most politically loaded decision since the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000. It also marked the first ruling by the high court on the Second Amendment in U.S. history. The decision upheld an individual right to bear arms and, according to Tribe, “certainly undermines any categorical prohibition on weapons used for self-defense,” while still permitting restrictions on the categories of people who can own guns and “reasonable regulation.”

And here's the "spoke to soon" part:

The split 5-4 decision also thrust the issue of the court's composition into the campaign, as the next president may appoint as many as three new justices.

The McCain campaign immediately used the ruling to raise Obama’s more liberal positions on guns, reaching back to the presumptive Democratic nominee's voting record as an Illinois state legislator.

NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris W. Cox:

"There are a lot of bitter gun owners who are looking to vote against Obama."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds:

“We will blast him about this ruling,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds, as the Republican’s communication team prepared to organize a morning conference call to raise Obama’s prior votes on guns and challenge his silence on the ban. “It’s a hard contrast issue, and we are going to hit it out of the park.”

So much for "effectively [taking] the gun issue out of the fall campaign." Sigh.