2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas: on Gun Control

Barack Obama: Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing

A: I don’t think that we can get that done. But what we can do is to provide just some common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You’ve got the tradition of lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt, fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. Then you’ve got the reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago. We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets.

Hillary Clinton: Against illegal guns, crack down on illegal gun dealers

Hillary Clinton: Backed off a national licensing registration plan on guns

John Edwards: Against gun licensing but support the assault weapons ban

A: That’s fair, but I haven’t changed my position on this. I’m against it. It is enormously important to protect people’s Second Amendment rights. The assault weapons ban, as president I’ll do everything in my power to reinstate it. But we need a president who understands the sportsmen, hunters who use their guns for lawful purposes have a right to have their Second Amendment rights.