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If you fancy yourself as a vote-winner, you've probably run into some people who have mentioned that they like Obama, but are leery of voting for him because they're worried about either his democratic affiliation or his stance on the second amendment. Now, to be honest, a lot of these guys are single-issue voters. That's the dynamic of the subject, and there may not be any use in talking to them if their minds are made up. If they're on that route, write them off to Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee, because those are the only candidates openly embracing the pro-2nd vote.

That being said, there's a lot to do to mitigate concerns that people have, which may not be properly placed.

There's a bit of a brouhaha over some (admittedly stupid) comment made by Obama when he was an Illinois state rep in 1998 about banning semi-automatic weapons. Not only is it polarizing it is also ill-conceived and totally unrealistic. More importantly, Obama was representing a district of southside Chicago during that time, which is a feverishly anti-gun area. So the language he uses in support of these constituents reflects the constituents. Such gaffes have not been repeated with a larger constituency base, and he's certainly moved his policy on the issue very far to the center in his presidential bid.

To illustrate this, there was a DNC debate either before Nevada or South Carolina, in which Clinton, Edwards, and Obama faced off. When asked what they would do about the issue of firearms, both Edwards and Clinton both said that they would push for the reathorization of the notorious Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Obama was the only one of the three to not state his intention to do this. Even George W. Bush said he'd sign a reauthorization of the ban.

Beyond the issue of the man is the issue of reality. That reality is that gun control policy is simply a neutered issue for the executive. With the exception of a groundswell of legislative momentum, a president is not going to significantly move the chains in any direction. The 1994 AWB made its way through with a new democratic president, and a powerful bicameral democratic congress. And even then, it barely did so.

The DNC control of congress in 2006 was a coup largely perpetrated by mountain western and other pro-2nd legislators. The sensitivity to this issue is extremely delicate, and that poisons the well against any perceived threat to worry about.

Lastly, the real meat of the issues in terms of control has always been settled on the municipal and state level. It is extremely rare to have policy interdicted at a higher level, and if somebody is concerned about this issue enough to be on the cusp, you may want to remind them that they can do more for their cause on the local level than they will in DC.

I'll admit, this is one of my pet issues, and I had to do a lot of introspection before I could make sure I was ready to vote for Obama. I'm trusting him to do right by us, but I also understand that there are so many other factors at work here. That isn't to reduce the importance of gun ownership, but it is to look at the choice objectively and rationally.

Anyway, hope this helps...coming from an admitted skeptic but a hopeful one.

Damn Charley, very nice...