President Obama has responded to the petitions signed at thewhitehouse.gov that called for gun control. In a three-minute dialogue seething with placation and ignorant ramblings devoid of greater issues of constitutional permissibility, Obama assured the American people that he will do something about gun violence- as long as the people do the heavy lifting.
Meanwhile, we still wait to hear his response to the calls for secession that has come from states.
In his candid sit-down with the American people, Obama claimed,
“I just wanted to take a minute today to respond and let you know we hear you. Now like the majority of Americans I believe that the second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms, we’ve got a strong tradition of gun ownership that’s been passed down from generation to generation. And the fact is most gun owners in America are responsible. They buy their guns legally, and they use them safely.”
It’s a pretty old tactic, really- liberals will cozy up and say, “I agree with you, guns are great. But what if we, I dunno, removed just a few of the really scary ones? That would be okay, right?” And thus begins the gradual descent into tyranny…
“This week I called on Congress to take up and pass common sense legislation that has the support of a majority of the American people, including banning the sale of military-style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips and making sure criminals can’t take advantage of legal loopholes to get their hands on a gun. I also tasked the Vice President with leading an effort to come up with a comprehensive set of serious proposals to keep our children safe.”
Oh, what did I tell you? They love to start with looking to ban scary weapons to which they can add meaningless, arbitrarily terms like “military-style” and “assault.” Surely we don’t need those kinds of weapons, right?
As a general rule, we should be alarmed by any government that attempts to rid the civilian population of any firearms that are actually effective at doing what guns were designed to do. The grim reality that many do not want to admit is that these weapons are good for fighting enemies- foreign and domestic.
After discussing his do-nothing plan to investigate gun violence, Obama said,
“I need your help. If we’re going to succeed, it’s going to take a sustained effort from mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, law enforcement and responsible gun owners, organizing, speaking up, calling their members of Congress as many times as it takes, standing up and saying enough on behalf of all our kids. That’s how change happens because of committed Americans who work to make it happen because of you. You’ve started something and now I’m asking you to keep at it.”
Now, as petitions roll in asking him to do something with which he agrees, Obama has decided to represent the will of the people.
The problem is, we have been asking him to do things for four years now, and he hasn’t given the slightest indication that he cares what the American people want. Now, we’re expected to believe that he aims to execute the will of the people (per his job description)?
Meanwhile, America waits in hushed anticipation of the oh-so-careful consideration he is, undoubtedly, giving to the petitions asking for the right of states to secede. While those, too, met the threshold for consideration by the executive branch, we have yet to hear from President Obama of his deep concern for the will of the people on that matter.
If President Obama wants to do something meaningful, he can begin by reading the Constitution. I’ll even give him my copy. In it, he will find a strict set of rules for what the government can and cannot do. Amongst the things government cannot do is infringe upon the absolute individual right to keep and bear arms that he (seemingly) loves so much. If he finds a paragraph that enumerates the instances where it is permissible to infringe upon this right, I will happily abide. Until then, I suggest he concern himself with issues that are within the scope of his duties.