another reason
Question 16. Because of the increased politicization of firearms issues and the lack of any meaningful public safety component in many legislative proposals, the membership of the FOP adopted a resolution stating that it would not support additional "gun control" legislation beyond our support for the measures signed into law in 1994. Will your administration seek to push any additional "gun control" measures? If so, what public safety benefit do you expect to achieve and why should the FOP overturn its resolution on this issue?
McCain's response: "I believe the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that must be protected. We have seen the record of gun control, and it is a record of crime fighting failure. Assuming that criminals will abide by gun restrictions is dangerously naive. Gun bans, waiting periods, ammunition bans, registration and licensing of gun owners—each of these has a common theme: they only affect law-abiding citizens. And they have another common theme: they don't work as crime fighting tools..."
Obama's response: He said he wants to reinstate the federal ban on "assault weapons."