According to the National Rifle Association and other 2nd Amendment advocates, Barack Obama is not being forthcoming about his standing on firearms rights. The Obama campaign has released a statement saying that Obama “believes in the Second Amendment.” However, an NRA press release on the matter said, “Barack Obama has gone beyond lying about his long anti-gun record.” According to the NRA, Barack Obama may be the most anti-firearms rights presidential candidate that ever ran under a major party ticket.

An NRA press release stated, “Barack Obama is the most anti-gun candidate who has ever run on a major party ticket in American history. ” The press release also urged members not to believe Obama’s statements that he will defend the second amendment.

Recently in the state of Nevada Barack Obama spoke on the issue of the Second Amendment and firearms rights. He told his audience, “I want you to urge.. [your friends and neighbors concerned about firearms rights].. and get in their face.”

Obama went on to say, “If they say they aren’t sure where [Obama] stands on gun rights, you tell them that [Obama] believes in the Second Amendment.”

But the NRA asks, “If Obama is pro-gun, Why are leading anti-gun and anti-hunting groups endorsing him?”

According to legislative records, Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines, semi-automatic hunting rifles, and conceal carry rights. Recently, the Obama campaign has threatened the NRA with legal action over advertisements the NRA is running exposing the legislative history of Obama. Even Hillary Clinton pointed out during the Democratic primaries that Obama favors “across the board” firearms bans and broad restrictions on second amendment rights.

On the issue of firearms, voters that favor firearms bans will have another reason to support the Obama campaign. In the Midwest, the heartland of America, the loss of firearms rights is an important issue to many voters and will likely cost Obama some votes. The latest polls show that Obama maintains a strong lead over McCain in Iowa, but Nebraska is firmly in favor of McCain. Missouri shows a close race with Obama having a slight advantage. In this race Missouri will be a very important state.

As a culture, those that grew up without exposure to firearms and hunting as a sport tend to be those that are in favor of firearms bans. One thing is sure, if Obama is elected as president the NRA will have an uphill battle trying to preserve a critical freedom that not every American may appreciate, but is no less important than any other right granted by our nation’s founding fathers under the constitution.