“They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
– Sen. Barack Obama 2008
Barack Obama made this relatively controversial statement back in 2008 while campaigning in North Carolina, when asked about small town voters across the Midwest and their growing frustrations with the political business of Washington D.C.
Four years later, Americans are clinging to their guns like never before. In the wake of the Aurora, CO shootings, it’s time Obama finally stood firm and hold the National Rifle Association and their gang of lobbyists accountable.
Understandably, hunting, fishing and gaming continues to be a big part of our heritage. But when young people get their hands on guns, bad things happen – especially in the case of suspected gunman James Egan Holmes.
The gun control issue will definitely be a topic of discussion come November.
How many more massacres will we have to endure before something is done? Earlier this year in Chardon, Ohio, a high school student opened fire, killing three, after he stole a 22-caliber semi-automatic handgun, which was legally purchased, from his uncle.
In Detroit, a 14-year-old kid riddled his mother with bullets while she slept after she refused to let him go outside and hang out with his friends.
Taking a hard look at our gun control laws is an issue that is long overdue. In the aftermath of the shooting that injured former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, along with the other nineteen other people killed or injured, nothing was done.
After the Tucson shooting, President Obama called for better background checks – that’s all.
In the wake of the Aurora shooting, Obama visited the family of the victims, saying:
“I come to them not so much as a President but a father and a husband.”
With all due respect Mr. President, we don’t need a father at this moment, we need a President willing to stand up to gun lobbyists and demand that the sort of weapons used in the Aurora shooting should not be allowed on America’s streets.
A day earlier, Obama told a Fort Meyers, FL crowd:
“My daughters go to the movies, what if Malia and Sasha was at the theater…They’re going to be other days for politics…”
That day is now Mr. President. We can’t have another tragedy like this happen; something has to be done to save lives and keep assault weapons out of the hands of people who don’t need them.
Obama must improve his record when it comes to gun control.
In 2010, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave the President a report card of seven F’s for his handling of gun legislation.
In fact, Obama, in just one year, signed into law more repeals of federal gun policies than his predecessor George W. Bush.
What Obama did do was reverse Reagan Era rules by allowing Americans to carry loaded guns in national parks and Amtrak trains.
Obama said it himself in an Op-Ed piece written in the Arizona Daily Star:
“In fact, my administration has not curtailed the rights of gun owners — it has expanded them, including allowing people to carry their guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.”
What’s weird is that many still think Obama is coming after their guns, which is the furthest thing from the truth. Wayne LaPierre, leader of the National Rifle Association (NRA), said that:
“Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. Obama is a committed anti-gunner and Obama endorsed a total ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of all handguns. He has a hidden agenda against the right to bear arms.”
Obama doesn’t have a hidden agenda when it comes to guns in America, the agenda is non-existent; at least it’s not on paper.
Obama’s stance on gun control has been banning assault weapons. In a 1996 questionnaire, Obama says he supports banning assault weapons.
In 2004, Obama said the government can’t confiscate all guns, but we need to ban assault weapons.
Obama has gone on record however, saying that assault weapons only have one purpose and that’s to kill people.
So Mr. President, you have a tough road ahead of you and reversing old polices from the Reagan-era is not a solution. Instead you are just bending to gun lobbyists who cling to their .9mm’s while clutching their bible tighter than ever.
Shaka Griffith is the News/Politics Editor of GlobalGrind.com Follow him on Twitter @Darealshaka
