Illinois State Rifle Association Commentary-Truth but an Opinion!

A Commentary About Barack Obama by the Illinois State Rifle Association-Truth! But an Opinion!

Summary of the eRumor:
An open letter from the Illinois State Rifle Association's chief lobbyist, Richard A. Pearson, about Senator Barack Obama. The Illinois State Rifle Association lobbyist claims that he knows Senator's views toward guns and gun owners and has "never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner than Barack Obama."

The Truth:
Richard A. Pearson is a real person and the Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA). Pearson wrote the open letter and it is posted on the ISRA web site. Click to read it.

OnTheIssues.org web site is non-partisan information resource for voters in the Presidential election. According to their site, this is Senator Obama's position on gun control:

	Ok for states & cities to determine local gun laws. (Apr 2008)
	FactCheck: Yes, Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban. (Apr 2008)
	Respect 2nd Amendment, but local gun bans ok. (Feb 2008)
	Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing. (Jan 2008)
	2000: cosponsored bill to limit purchases to 1 gun per month. (Oct 2007)
	Concealed carry OK for retired police officers. (Aug 2007)
	Stop unscrupulous gun dealers dumping guns in cities. (Jul 2007)
	Keep guns out of inner cities--but also problem of morality. (Oct 2006)
	Bush erred in failing to renew assault weapons ban. (Oct 2004)
	Ban semi-automatics, and more possession restrictions. (Jul 1998)
	Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)

Click for Ontheissues.org

updated 10/28/08

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Below is an open letter from the Illinois State Rifle Association's chief lobbyist, please read!

Illinois State Rifle Association

420 E. Locust, P.O. Box 637, Chatsworth, IL 60921

Phone: (815) 635-3198 or (815) 635-3166 Fax: (815) 635-3723 Website: www.isra.org

Fellow Sportsman:

Over the past 15 years, I have served in the Illinois state capitol as the chief lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle

Association.

I lobbied Barack Obama extensively while he was an Illinois State Senator. As a result of that

experience, I know Obama’s attitudes toward guns and gun owners better than anyone. The truth be

told, in all my years in the Capitol I have never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for

the law-abiding firearm owner than Barack Obama.

Although Obama claims to be an advocate for the 2 nd Amendment, his voting

record in the Illinois Senate paints a very different picture. While a state senator, Obama voted

for a bill that would ban nearly every hunting rifle, shotgun and target rifle owned by Illinois citizens.

That same bill would authorize the state police to raid homes of gun owners and forcibly confiscate

banned guns. Obama supported a bill that would shut down law-abiding firearm manufacturers

including Springfield Armory, Armalite, Rock River Arms and Les Baer. Obama also voted for a bill

that would prohibit law-abiding citizens from purchasing more than one gun per month.

Without a doubt, Barack Obama has proven himself to be an enemy of the law abiding firearm owner. At

the same time, Obama has proven himself to be a friend to the hardened criminal. While a state senator,

Obama voted 4 times against legislation that would allow a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of

home and family.

Does Barack Obama still sound to you like a “friend” of the law-abiding gun owner?

And speaking of friends, you can always tell a person by the company they keep. Obama counts

among his friends the Rev. Michael Pfleger - a renegade Chicago priest who has openly called for the

murder of gun shop owners and pro-gun legislators. Then there is his buddy Richard Daley, the mayor

of Chicago who has declared that if it were up to him, nobody would be allowed to own a gun. And let’s

not forget Obama’s pal George Soros - the guy who has pumped millions of dollars into the UN’s

international effort to disarm law-abiding citizens.

Obama has shown that he is more than willing to use other people’s money to fund his campaign to

take your guns away from you. While a board member of the leftist Joyce Foundation, Barack Obama wrote

checks for tens of millions of dollars to extremist gun control organizations such as the Illinois

Council Against Handgun Violence and the Violence Policy Center.

Does Barack Obama still sound to you like a “friend” of the law-abiding gun owner?

By now, I’m sure that many of you have received mailings from an organization called

“American Hunters and Shooters Association(AHSA)” talking about what a swell fellow Obama is and

how he honors the 2 Amendment and how you will never have to worry about Obama coming to take

your guns. Let me make it perfectly clear - everything the AHSA says about Obama is pure hogwash.

The AHSA is headed by a group of left-wing elitists who subscribe to the British view of hunting and shooting.

That is, a state of affairs where hunting and shooting are reserved for the wealthy upper-crust who can afford

guided hunts on exclusive private reserves.

The AHSA is not your friend, never will be.

In closing, I’d like to remind you that I’m a guy who has actually gone nose to nose with Obama on gun rights

issues. The Obama I know cannot even begin to identify with this nation’s outdoor traditions. The Obama I

know sees you, the law abiding gun owner, as nothing but a low-class lummox who is easily swayed by the

flash of a smile and a ration of rosy rhetoric. The Obama I know is a stony-faced liar who has honed

his skill at getting what he wants - so long as people are willing to give it to him.

That’s the Barack Obama I know.

Richard A. Pearson

Executive Director

Illinois State Rifle Association

Open Letter to Sportsmen:10/10/08