Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Hypocrisy and Theatrics as Obama Launches Campaign Against Second Amendment

Friday, January 18, 2013

Wednesday morning, the White House accused the NRA of using children as "pawns in a political fight," because we pointed out in an advertisement that while President Obama's children are protected by armed guards at school, their father had shown little interest in armed protection for anyone else's children. We said Obama was being hypocritical. The White House said our ad was "repugnant and cowardly."

Minutes later, Obama surrounded himself with children, to announce that he will use "whatever weight this office holds" to get Congress to prohibit all private sales of firearms, ban "military-style assault weapons" and impose a "10-round limit on magazines."  As if to acknowledge that few adults are agreeing with him, Obama said the voices of children "should compel us to change."

Readers interested in the full text of Obama's stage show can view it by clicking here. However, several groundless presumptions and misleading statements Obama made in laying out his gun control vision deserve to be corrected and clarified here.

First, Obama said "Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines" (emphasis added). Of course, we would oppose restoring the ban that was imposed between 1994 and 2004.  But restoring the old ban is not what Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has said the legislation she has promised to introduce next week will propose.

Feinstein says that her new bill will propose to ban 120 firearms by name (as compared to 19 in her 1993 bill), and a draft of the bill obtained by NRA-ILA shows that she will propose to ban additional categories of rifles, shotguns and handguns far beyond those covered in her earlier effort. She has also told reporters that she is considering proposing that this vast array of firearms be subject to the National Firearms Act and forfeited upon the owners' deaths,' or be subject to a mandatory "buy-back," a euphemism for confiscation with compensation.

Second, Obama used the expressions "military style assault weapons" and "weapons . . . of war" to describe semi-automatic firearms that are not designed for, or used by, any military organization.

Third, Obama said his agenda should be adopted "if there is even one life that can be saved," without admitting that limiting magazines to 10 rounds might render a person unable to defend himself or herself against a criminal attack.  Police officers will not be limited to 10 rounds, although they carry multiple spare magazines on their duty belts, they have long guns in their patrol cars, they can call for back-up on their radios, and after running license plate numbers on cars they pull over, they often know who they may be dealing with before they make their approach.  A private individual jumped in a parking lot or awakened in the middle of the night by an intruder will likely have only the magazine that is in his or her gun.

Fourth, Obama said "as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check."  But the study that claim is based upon found that "The predominant sources of guns, unsurprisingly, were stores (60 percent).  Other important sources included family members and acquaintances."  Only four percent of gun owners who were surveyed acquired guns from dealers and non-dealers at gun shows and flea markets, and three percent did so "through the mail" (which, as the study noted, requires a NICS check through a dealer). Acquisitions from strangers are the exception, not the rule.

Obama was right about one thing, however.  He cannot get most of what he wants unless Congress gives it to him, and members of Congress often respond to what they hear from their constituents.  Opponents of the Second Amendment have never been as organized, nor as well-funded, nor as strongly backed by the media, as they are today.  We must not merely match their effort; we must exceed it by a wide margin.

The BATFE has recently released statistics showing that 9.5 million firearms were manufactured and imported for sale during 2011, up from 8 million in 2010.  And, at least 408,000 new AR-15s were made in 2011, a number likely topped by a significant margin in 2012.  But buying guns and running record numbers of NICS checks don't mean as much to members of Congress as a phone call or email.

Obama didn't mention it during his comments on Wednesday, but he is also proposing that Congress prohibit the possession of projectiles defined as "armor piercing ammunition."  Bearing in mind that federal law has prohibited the manufacture and importation of such projectiles since the 1980s, we are left to wonder whether such action by Congress would be followed by a new ruling by the BATFE, as to what kinds of projectiles the law would cover.

Obama told his adoring audience to "Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands.  Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  And if they say no, ask them why not."  A better question for any lawmaker would be "why?"

Finally, Obama signed 23 executive orders on gun and safety-related issues, the list of which can be viewed here. Among them, four initially appear the most potentially problematic.

First, Obama has directed Attorney General Eric Holder to review categories of individuals prohibited from possessing firearms, which presumably means that the president wants the list of persons prohibited from possessing firearms to be expanded.  Anti-gun activists and academics have long suggested it should include persons under age 21, persons convicted of ever-pettier misdemeanors, and the like.

Second, Obama will direct Holder to issue a report designed to promote "smart" gun technologies that gun owners generally do not want, and that would raise the cost of firearms and potentially render them useless.

Third, Obama will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to resume conducting shoddy research designed to promote gun control, something that is currently prohibited by law.

And fourth, Obama will require federal law enforcement agencies to request the BATFE to trace all guns seized in criminal investigations, presumably to generate statistics that the CDC could use in such studies.

In sum, the gauntlet has been thrown.  It's time to stand and fight.

TRENDING NOW
Supreme Court Upholds ATF Rule on “Firearms,” Unfinished Receivers and Kits

News  

Monday, March 31, 2025

Supreme Court Upholds ATF Rule on “Firearms,” Unfinished Receivers and Kits

On March 26, in a 7-2 decision (with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting), the United States Supreme Court upheld a Biden administration gun control rule on what constitutes a “firearm” under 18 U.S.C. ...

House Judiciary Committee Votes to Advance Concealed Carry Reciprocity Legislation

News  

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

House Judiciary Committee Votes to Advance Concealed Carry Reciprocity Legislation

On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee held a markup for several bills, including two NRA-backed bills. With this crucial step in the legislative process now complete, these pieces of legislation can now ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

News  

Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

More Polish Citizens are Carrying Firearms for Self-Defense

News  

Monday, March 31, 2025

More Polish Citizens are Carrying Firearms for Self-Defense

Certain parts of the world—sadly, without any specifically recognized right to arms—have been moving closer to accepting the fact that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens is not the inherently dangerous concept promoted by ...

Trump DOJ to Investigate Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for Permit Delays

News  

Monday, March 31, 2025

Trump DOJ to Investigate Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for Permit Delays

The United States Supreme Court, in its landmark Bruen decision recognizing a right to carry in public for self-defense, did not foreclose shall-issue licensing as being consistent with the Second Amendment.

Colorado: FOID Bill Heads to Governor's Desk, TAKE ACTION NOW!

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Colorado: FOID Bill Heads to Governor's Desk, TAKE ACTION NOW!

On Friday, March 28th, Senate Bill 25-003, the semi-auto ban turned FOID-scheme bill, passed the final vote on the Senate floor, concurring in the House amendments. 

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Colorado’s Excise Tax on Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 31, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Colorado’s Excise Tax on Firearm and Ammunition Sales

Today, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), together with the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Colorado State Shooting Association, Magnum Shooting Center, and an NRA member, filed a lawsuit challenging Colorado’s 6.5% excise ...

President Trump Works to Expedite D.C. Carry Permits

News  

Monday, March 31, 2025

President Trump Works to Expedite D.C. Carry Permits

On March 27, President Donald J. Trump signed a wide-ranging executive order titled, “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful.”

Just One More Step: Australia’s New Weapon Laws

News  

Monday, March 24, 2025

Just One More Step: Australia’s New Weapon Laws

Australia implemented a firearm ban and mandatory confiscation in 1996 pursuant to the National Firearms Agreement, in which nearly 700,000 privately-owned firearms were turned in to the government and destroyed. 

Maine: Judiciary Committee Votes on Gun Bills This Week

Monday, March 31, 2025

Maine: Judiciary Committee Votes on Gun Bills This Week

On Thursday, April 3rd, the Joint Standing Judiciary Committee will vote on several gun-related bills. NRA members and Second Amendment supporters are urged to contact committee members now and encourage them to oppose all gun control ...

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.