Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

President to Press his Anti-Gun Agenda "With or Without Congress"

Friday, January 31, 2014

Last year, in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Conn., Barack Obama gave a State of the Union performance that was filled with theatrical pandering.  Seeking to capitalize on that tragedy by exploiting the understandably intense emotions that followed in its wake, the President reiterated his support for increased background checks and bans on common semi-automatic firearms and their magazines, which he referred to as "weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines."

As usual, Obama's remarks were short on evidence to support the efficacy of his proposals.  That's because evidence was (and still is) sorely lacking--and experts at Obama's own Justice Department acknowledged that fact, even if the President will not.

In April, the U.S. Senate soundly rejected Obama's gun control agenda, which prompted one political commentator to call the action the "biggest loss" of Obama's presidency. 

This year, Obama's State of the Union gun control rhetoric was toned down substantially but was no less disturbing, with the president pledging that he will continue to promote his anti-gun agenda "with or without Congress." 

As reported by Reuters.com, Obama said, "I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over this country who say 'we are not afraid,' and I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools."

What the president is saying, of course, is that he intends to continue flouting the Constitution to force his anti-gun agenda.  The president's solution for preventing shootings by deranged perpetrators--a number of whom passed the very background checks he sought to expand last year--is to leverage the full weight of the Oval Office to harass and harry anybody who is associated with firearms through regulations, appointments, international treaties and accords, and by acting through his adoring proxies in the media, academia, and entertainment industry.  Perhaps the president feels he's showing strong leadership by threatening to bypass Congress.  We suspect that most Americans won't think so. 

A new Gallup poll shows that the country's overall dissatisfaction with U.S. gun laws and policies has increased to 55 percent this year (up from 51 percent last year) but the increase came largely from Americans who say that gun laws are too strict.  As reported by the National Journal, this percentage jumped to 16 percent this year, a rate that more than triples the five percent recorded by Gallup last year. Meanwhile, the article reports that the percentage of Americans favoring stricter gun laws fell seven points in 2014, from 38 to 31 percent.

As the Gallup poll concludes, "Americans have become more dissatisfied with gun laws over the past year, but this is attributable to a greater percentage who say gun laws are too strict, rather than not being strict enough.  Americans' changing views could set the course for future gun law debates and legislation" (emphasis added).

Thus, the President's single-minded pursuit of gun control may well continue not only "without" Congress but against the express will of a growing segment of the American people.

TRENDING NOW
Virginia: Gun Bill Updates As Crossover Deadline Arrives

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Virginia: Gun Bill Updates As Crossover Deadline Arrives

Today, February 17th is the legislative crossover deadline in Virginia, and any bills that have not left their chamber of origin by the end of the day are considered dead for the session.

New Mexico Legislature Adjourns!

Thursday, February 19, 2026

New Mexico Legislature Adjourns!

Today at noon, the New Mexico legislature adjourned sine die from the 2026 legislative session. Despite efforts by anti-gun advocates, Second Amendment supporters were able to engage and help prevent two radical anti-gun proposals from ...

Virginia Gun Owners Face Magazine Confiscation!

Monday, February 2, 2026

Virginia Gun Owners Face Magazine Confiscation!

Astute Virginia gun owners anticipated terrible gun control legislation from the 2026 General Assembly. Still, some may be shocked to learn that anti-rights zealots in the Virginia Senate have advanced a bill to CONFISCATE standard capacity firearm ...

Minnesota: Hearing on Semi-Auto and Magazine Bans Next Week

Friday, February 20, 2026

Minnesota: Hearing on Semi-Auto and Magazine Bans Next Week

On Tuesday, February 24th, the House Public Safety Finance and Policy committee will hold a hearing on two all-encompassing ban bills, House File 3433 and House File 3402

VA Announces End To Policy that Strips the Second Amendment Rights of Veterans

News  

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

VA Announces End To Policy that Strips the Second Amendment Rights of Veterans

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that the VA will no longer report veterans to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) solely because they have been assigned a fiduciary to assist them ...

North Carolina: Permitless Carry Veto Override Vote Postponed

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

North Carolina: Permitless Carry Veto Override Vote Postponed

Today, the North Carolina House of Representatives rescheduled this morning’s veto override on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to February 9, 2026.

Oregon: Legal and Policy Concerns Ignored as Ballot Measure 114 Implementation Bill Advances

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Oregon: Legal and Policy Concerns Ignored as Ballot Measure 114 Implementation Bill Advances

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held a work session to “fix” the extremely flawed gun control Ballot Measure 114, where it was advanced out of the committee. 

“Violence Interrupters” Demonstrate Wishful Thinking is Not Crime Control

News  

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

“Violence Interrupters” Demonstrate Wishful Thinking is Not Crime Control

Not too long ago, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker dismissed President Donald Trump’s assessment of over-the-top violent crime in Chicago as being rooted in “lies,” saying that “civilian law enforcement is how you fight crime,” and “[w]e’ve got ...

Virginia: Multiple Gun Control Bills Advance in Senate

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Virginia: Multiple Gun Control Bills Advance in Senate

On Monday, January 26th, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee advanced a slate of gun control bills targeting semi-automatic firearms, standard capacity magazines, carry rights, home storage, and more.

News  

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Mental Health and Firearms

Since 1966, the National Rifle Association has urged the federal government to address the problem of mental illness and violence. As we noted then, “the time is at hand to seek means by which society ...

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.