Obama Takes Middle Road on Gun Ban Ruling

Barack Obama delicately waded into the debate over the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban.

Asked on Fox Business for his reaction, he said cities have a right to “common sense” gun control laws while individuals have the right to bear arms.

“Well, you know, I have said consistently that I believe the Second Amendment is an individual right,” he said. “And that was the essential decision that the Supreme Court came down on. And it also recognized that even though we have an individual right to bear arms, that right can be limited by sensible, reasonable gun laws.”

He continued: “The D.C. law, according to the Supreme Court, went too far. And now the key is going to be, I think, for us to come together and say, people do have an individual right. And there’s nothing wrong with common sense gun laws, background checks, keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill and creating what I think is a common sense belief among people that we can both uphold our traditions with respect to firearms and prevent the senseless killings that we see on the streets of so many American cities.”

His answer echoed his cautious statement released through his campaign: “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.”

Obama was interviewed at an economic summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Talking to Fox Business’s Alexis Glick, Obama dismissed a CEO’s suggestion that his rhetoric on the economy has been too negative.

“Well, look, I think if anybody tracks my campaign, we’ve had about as positive a presidential campaign as you’ve seen in maybe a generation,” he said. “I mean, we have talked about bringing people together, making sure that we don’t get in the same ideological battles and ruts that we’ve been in for the last two decades.”

He added: “There’s no doubt that sometimes the testosterone kicks in and you start getting more combative than you need to.”

Watch the interview below.