Obama gun stance counters history

CHICAGO, April 20 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's time on the board of a gun-control group doesn't mean he wants to eradicate handguns, a spokesman said.

Sen. Obama, D-Ill., served nine years on the board of directors of the Joyce Foundation in Chicago that claimed the Second Amendment protects state militias, but not the individual right to bear arms, the Politico reports.

The Joyce Foundation supported grants totaling $21 million for anti-handgun measures and funded publication of a book "Every Handgun Is Aimed at You: The Case for Banning Handguns" while Obama served on the board, the Politico said.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said Obama's time on the board does not conflict with his more recent support of gun ownership. He told the Politico the Joyce Foundation supports "dialogue" aimed at reducing gun violence.

LaBolt said Obama "does not remember each of the over 1,500" positions he may have voted on during his tenure with the Joyce Foundation from 1994-2002, the Politico said.

Obama indicated in a 1996 state Senate questionnaire that he supported banning "the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns," but said in a Democratic presidential debate Wednesday he "never favored an all-out ban on handguns."