NRA Already Taking Aim at Obama

Some members of the National Rifle Association are outraged that President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team is asking potential government appointees the following questions:  “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.”  This was number 59 on a list of a 63 questions on the form, under the heading of “Miscellaneous.”  Firearm advocates of the From-My-Cold-Dead-Hands variety view these innocuous questions as an infringement of their God-given right to possess any weapon gun manufacturers can dream up.

Jonathan Martin at Politico writes:  The furor over the query is a vivid reminder of the intensity of support for Second Amendment rights and signals the scrutiny Obama is likely to receive from the ever-vigilant gun lobby.  Obama’s transition team declined to go into detail on why they included the question, suggesting only that it was done to ensure potential appointees were in line with gun laws.  “The intent of the gun question is to determine legal permitting,” said one transition aide...  Paul Light, professor of public service at New York University, said there was no such question for potential appointees when President George W. Bush took office in 2000.  I'm sure there wasn't.  Bush probably passed out revolvers with keys to the men's room.  Martin goes on to note that the NRA, vexed at having spent millions against Obama only to see him carry such sportsmen-friendly states as Michigan and Pennsylvania, is vowing to keep up the good fight - or the bad fight, depending on which side of the barrel you're addressing. 

Freshman Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has pledged to enact legislation to bar federal hiring discrimination on the basis of gun ownership.  (Sigh.)  Firearm advocates and a few conservative legislators are building a straw man argument.  This isn't about some imaginary litmus test for Obama appointees, as any sane person can tell you.  And no one's trying to take guns away from hunters.  It  does, however, provide an opportunity for right-wingers to stomp their feet and pound their chests.  Which is what they do best.