Watch Obama’s actions on guns

Americans should pay attention not only to what Barack Obama says about “gun control” but also to what he does, because actions are usually more revealing than words.

In May 2004, while serving in the Illinois legislature, Obama voted against legislation that exempted individuals from prosecution for using handguns for self defense in their own homes or businesses.

That legislation came about as a result of a 2003 incident in Wilmette, Ill., where local law enforcement authorities wanted to prosecute a 52-year-old Wilmette resident named Hale DeMar for using a handgun (legally purchased years before) to shoot a burglar. The shooting occurred as the burglar was entering DeMar’s home for the second time in less than 24 hours; he had stolen keys to the home and DeMar’s vehicle on the first visit.

Wilmette officials were not sympathetic to DeMar and wanted to punish him for violating a Wilmette ordinance that prohibited private ownership of handguns. Obama aligned himself with Wilmette officials, against DeMar, and voted against the legislation twice — once during initial passage in the state Senate and again when the Senate voted overwhelmingly to override a veto by the state’s Democrat governor.

So when Barack Obama and many other Democrats pay lip service to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and declare that they respect rights of individual Americans to own firearms and to use them for lawful purposes, including self defense, remember Hale DeMar.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Watch Obama’s actions on guns."