• Mitt Romney has been taking stands both against and in
favor of the gun control issue. Initially the former
Massachusetts governor was on the side of strong gun laws.
 
• In 1994, while running for the Senate, Romney supported
a couple of gun control measures namely the Brady Bill which
attempted to bring forth a five-day waiting period on gun sales
and another ban on some assault weapons much to the ire of the
National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups. 

• In 2002 as the GOP gubernatorial candidate, Romney
praised the state's stringent laws. "We do have tough gun laws in
Massachusetts; I support them," he said. "I won?t chip away at
them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."

• However, as Romney ran in the US Presidential elections,
his words and actions meant to appease the gun owners of the
nation. He openly reveals that he is a member of the NRA along
with working to ease the restrictions imposed on gun owners.

• As reported in January 2007, Romney said that "I have a
gun of my own. I go hunting myself. I'm a member of the NRA and
believe firmly in the right to bear arms." It was later
discovered that Romney had never been issued a license in the
four states where he had lived.
 
• However, Romney continues to support the ban on assault
weapons. "These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense.
They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of
hunting down and killing people."

 		

• Obama addressed the June 2008 Supreme Court decision
striking down the District of Columbia's gun ban by saying, ?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. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view,
and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice
Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and
subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to
keep their streets safe.?

?• Obama's gun control policy was widely expected to be in
the direction of putting a curb on the use of gun.

• Once he took charge as President, Obama declared his
firearm policy by listing out certain priorities.  Thus gun
policy would be administered in two areas - 'ending the dangerous
cycle of youth violence' and 'addressing gun violence in cities'.


• Obama has rather a long history of record of supporting
the anti-gun policy in his public career. Obama used to support
radical anti-gun foundations such as the Joyce Foundation as
early as the 1994. Obama was also seen supporting the ban of
weapons, imposition of taxes on arms and ammunition and
legislations intended to put a check on the use of guns
throughout his career.

• However, Obama respects the gun owners' rights as had
been mentioned in the Constitution. "I have no intention of
taking away folks' guns. It's important for us to recognize that
we?ve got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership
generally." 

• Obama also added that, "I have never favored an all-out
ban on handguns. What I think we can provide is common-sense
approaches to the issue of illegal guns that are ending up on the
streets."

• Pertaining to the Second Amendment and individual gun
owners' rights, "As a general principle, I believe that the
Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just
because you have an individual right does not mean that the state
or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right."