Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Obama's budget is a sneak attack on our Second Amendment freedoms

Friday, February 17, 2012

By Chris Cox, NRA-ILA Executive Director

Ever since taking office, President Barack Obama has tried desperately to convince gun owners and sportsmen that he supports the Second Amendment. But actions speak louder than words, and Obama’s latest budget proposal contains numerous sneak attacks aimed at the heart of our firearm freedoms.

For example, NRA members and gun owners fought hard for a law to ban government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control from using our tax dollars to produce blatant anti-gun propaganda. Obama wants to kill it in his budget.

We fought hard for a law to ban the Obama administration from spending our tax dollars on illegal schemes like Operation Fast and Furious, which funneled thousands of guns to violent Mexican drug cartels. Obama wants to kill it in his budget.

We fought hard to protect the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, which allows armed, trained commercial airline pilots to serve as the last line of defense should terrorists breach the cockpit and attempt another 9/11-style attack. Obama wants to slash the funding for this potentially life-saving program in half.

Perhaps he doesn’t have the money to protect airline passengers because he spent it all sending guns to Mexico.

We fought hard for a law that prevents the Obama White House from spending our tax dollars to ban shotguns and to stop historic and collectible firearms from being imported into the United States. Obama wants to kill both of these in his budget.

Obama’s budgetary assault on our gun rights doesn’t stop there. For years gun owners have been buying and recycling our military’s spent brass as a way to keep the cost of firearm ownership down. Not anymore. If Obama gets his way with the budget, all of this brass will be melted at taxpayers’ expense.

You have to ask yourself: If Obama is so serious about protecting our gun rights, what’s so wrong with stopping government agencies from using our tax dollars to attack our Second Amendment rights?

With innocent lives being cut short on both the U.S. and Mexican side of our border, why would Obama go out of his way to reject a ban on funding for illegal operations like Fast and Furious?

The answer is simple. Everything Barack Obama says about protecting the Second Amendment is a bald-faced lie. He will use every weapon at his disposal — including our hard-earned tax dollars — in his mission to destroy our Second Amendment freedoms.

The Second Amendment is America’s first freedom, because it’s the one freedom that guarantees all of our precious liberties. Barack Obama’s values have never been, and will never be, compatible with this freedom. His latest budget proposal proves it.

Chris W. Cox is the Executive Director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and serves as the organization’s chief lobbyist.

This article first appeared in the Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/17/obamas-budget-is-a-sneak-attack-on-our-second-amendment-freedoms/#ixzz1mzXPZgQJ

TRENDING NOW
New Jersey: Attorney General Sends Subpoenas to Statewide FFLs Seeking Customer Records

Saturday, May 16, 2026

New Jersey: Attorney General Sends Subpoenas to Statewide FFLs Seeking Customer Records

Last year, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Glock, Inc. under the state’s public nuisance law. This week, in connection with that lawsuit, FFLs across the state started receiving subpoenas demanding ...

Virginia: Spanberger Signs Unconstitutional Gun Bills into Law

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Virginia: Spanberger Signs Unconstitutional Gun Bills into Law

Today, April 23rd, Governor Spanberger Signed HB1525 and SB727/HB1524 into law. 

UPDATE: Legislation Introduced to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

News  

Monday, May 5, 2025

UPDATE: Legislation Introduced to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

The Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), as well as Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), have reintroduced the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act ...

Virginia: Spanberger Doubles Down on Semi-Auto Ban, NRA Doubles Down on Lawsuits

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Virginia: Spanberger Doubles Down on Semi-Auto Ban, NRA Doubles Down on Lawsuits

On the night of May 14th, Governor Spanberger once again proved she has no concern for the 2nd Amendment by signing SB749/HB217 - legislation that bans certain semi-automatic firearms, including many semi-automatic rifles, pistols and ...

NRA Announces State Lawsuit Challenging Virginia’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans

Thursday, May 14, 2026

NRA Announces State Lawsuit Challenging Virginia’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans

Today, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a state lawsuit challenging Virginia’s newly enacted bans on “assault firearms” and magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds.

New York Times Acknowledges Semi-Auto Rifles Aren’t Just Common, But “Ubiquitous”

News  

Monday, May 18, 2026

New York Times Acknowledges Semi-Auto Rifles Aren’t Just Common, But “Ubiquitous”

In the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), that acknowledged the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms, Justice Antonin Scalia noted some of the arms ...

Tell Your Member of Congress to Protect Veterans Second Amendment Rights!

News  

Friday, May 15, 2026

Tell Your Member of Congress to Protect Veterans Second Amendment Rights!

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as next week on the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act.

Reading, Writing and Overreacting: Tiny Toy Leads to School “Weapon” Suspension

News  

Monday, May 18, 2026

Reading, Writing and Overreacting: Tiny Toy Leads to School “Weapon” Suspension

Parents and others have expressed concerns over a continuing decline in student literacy rates and math skills. At the same time, there’s a worrying erosion of common sense and critical thinking on the part of ...

NRA Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Virginia’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans

Thursday, May 14, 2026

NRA Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Virginia’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans

Today, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and two NRA members filed a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s newly enacted bans on “assault firearms” and magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds.

Beyond Colorado: DOJ Lawsuits Herald a National Defense of the Second Amendment

News  

Monday, May 11, 2026

Beyond Colorado: DOJ Lawsuits Herald a National Defense of the Second Amendment

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and her newly hired brigade of Second Amendment attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division Second Amendment Section are clearly ready to work. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.