Candidates differ on overturned gun ban

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By Joseph Curl

The Second Amendment burst onto the presidential campaign trail Thursday, with Sen. John McCain backing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the District's handgun ban and Sen. Barack Obama defending his longtime support for a similar law in Chicago.

With the fate of the Chicago law in question - a gun rights group filed suit in the city 15 minutes after the high court's ruling - and further court cases sure to follow, the right to bear arms appears likely to hang around a while. Both campaigns quickly went into full spin mode as they jockeyed for position on an issue near and dear to millions of Americans.

Mr. McCain's statement shortly after the Supreme Court struck down the ban was terse and unequivocal, calling the decision a "landmark victory."

"For the first time in the history of our republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers," he said.

Mr. Obama, a longtime supporter of gun control measures who earlier this year seemed to say the District's ban was constitutional, sought a middle ground on the ruling, citing Justice Antonin Scalia's caveat in the majority opinion.

"Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today's ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country," he said.

Mr. McCain targeted the Illinois senator's support for the ban in his home city, saying the ruling "makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans."

The Republican also recalled a comment by Mr. Obama in San Francisco, where he told a group of Democrats in private that residents of struggling small towns "get bitter, they cling to their guns or religion."

"Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right - sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly," Mr. McCain said.

In his statement, Mr. Obama said he supports gun rights, but expressed concern about citizens affected by gun violence.

"I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures," he said.

He vowed as president to "uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen," and answered critics on his support for the Chicago handgun ban.

"I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne," he said. "Today's decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe."

The Democrat's campaign also sought to recast the candidate's previous support for the District ban. A spokesman made an "inartful" statement when he said in November that Obama believed the District law was constitutional, but Mr. Obama himself did not correct a debate moderator who repeated the position in February.

"You said in Idaho recently, I'm quoting here, 'I have no intention of taking away folks' guns.' But you support the D.C. handgun ban and you've said that it's constitutional," the debate moderator said in February. Mr. Obama nodded and said "Right, right."

The Obama campaign now argues that Mr. Obama was simply acknowledging the question by saying "right, right."

While Mr. Obama refused in recent days to articulate a position when asked whether he thought the District ban was constitutional, he said Thursday that "in fact what I've been saying consistently is what the Supreme Court essentially said today."