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Barry Obama is starting his anti-gun stance before he even gets in office.

Question 59 on the Obama Transition Team’s intrusive and extensive list of questions for potential officials of the Obama administration:

“Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

The question has raised the ire of the National Rifle Association.

And rightly so. Barry Obama has taken his stance regarding the Second Amendment off his websites (both the campaign and transition). All it says is:

“Sportsmen
Barack Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of America’s hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sports. Were it not for America’s hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. Barack Obama and Joe Biden recognize that we must forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America’s hunters and anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition.”

Pretty vague if you ask me. My initial fear regarding Barry’s views has turned to sheer terror. What hit me was that once in office he could turn around and ban ALL firearms with an Executive Order. With both Houses controlled by his supporters there is nothing we will be able to do. People have told me I’m nuts to even think such a thing. However, looking at his past record when it comes to firearms, I don’t think I’m off one bit. Regardless of what Obama says, his actions don’t line up with his speaking.

Why do you think gun and ammunition sales are off the charts? People know deep down that this in-coming administration wants to ban guns or make it so difficult to own one that people are now rushing out to buy like crazy.

One extreme example of an executive order is Executive Order 9066, where Franklin D. Roosevelt delegated military authority to remove all people (used to target specifically Japanese Americans and German Americans) in a military zone. The authority delegated to General John L. DeWitt subsequently paved the way for all Japanese-Americans on the West Coast to be sent to internment camps for the duration of World War II. Thousands of German Americans and Italian Americans were also sent to internment camps under executive order.

Executive Order 13233, which restricted public access to the papers of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush was more recently criticised by the Society of American Archivists and other groups, stating that it “violates both the spirit and letter of existing US law on access to presidential papers as clearly laid down in 44 USC. 2201-2207,” and adding that the order “potentially threatens to undermine one of the very foundations of our nation.”

Critics fear that the president could make himself a de facto dictator by side-stepping the other branches of government and making autocratic laws. The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben in particular has criticized the generalization since World War I of the use of executive orders or decrees by all Western democracies, declaring that this tends toward the constitution of a “permanent state of exception.” The presidents, however, cite executive order as often the only way to clarify laws passed through the Congress, laws which often require vague wording in order to please all political parties involved in their creation.

To date, U.S. courts have overturned only two executive orders: the aforementioned Truman order, and a 1996 order issued by President Clinton that attempted to prevent the US government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll. Congress may overturn an executive order by passing legislation in conflict with it or by refusing to approve funding to enforce it. In the former, the president retains the power to veto such a decision; however, the Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds majority to end an executive order. It has been argued that a Congressional override of an executive order is a nearly impossible event due to the supermajority vote required and the fact that such a vote leaves individual lawmakers very vulnerable to political criticism.

So, be warned…

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