As I wrote yesterday, this is box checking by Obama, some red meat thrown to his gun grabby base. It really ends up being very little adoo over nothing, a 1 ounce bit of steak when Progressives expected a 16oz T-bone
(White House) Gun violence has taken a heartbreaking toll on too many communities across the country. Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence—and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place. Over the same period, hundreds of thousands of other people in our communities committed suicide with a gun and nearly half a million people suffered other gun injuries. Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been shot to death protecting their communities. And too many children are killed or injured by firearms every year, often by accident. The vast majority of Americans—including the vast majority of gun owners—believe we must take sensible steps to address these horrible tragedies.
The President and Vice President are committed to using every tool at the Administration’s disposal to reduce gun violence. Some of the gaps in our country’s gun laws can only be fixed through legislation, which is why the President continues to call on Congress to pass the kind of commonsense gun safety reforms supported by a majority of the American people. And while Congress has repeatedly failed to take action and pass laws that would expand background checks and reduce gun violence, today, building on the significant steps that have already been taken over the past several years, the Administration is announcing a series of commonsense executive actions designed to:
Feel free to read through it. At best, it might stop a few bad guys/gals from purchasing a firearm. There is an expansion of requiring background checks at gun shows and the Internet by gun sellers. Does it cover individuals selling a few guns yearly? We don’t quite know.
(Mother Jones) But as my colleague Mark Follman wrote Monday, that clarification won’t be enough: “Expanding background checks through a broader interpretation of current federal law still won’t close the so-called gun show loophole; hundreds of thousands of firearms will continue to be bought and sold with minimal regulation, both online and in person. Only an act of Congress could change that comprehensively.”
Huh. Anyhow, he wants 200 new ATF agents to “enforce gun laws.” You know, the same folks who ran rifles obtained through straw-purchases and ran them to Mexico, then lost track of them, leading to hundreds of deaths and injuries.
He includes a bit about increasing mental health reporting. This may violate patient confidentiality.
And, he wants research on smart gun technology. Personally, I don’t have a problem with this. If someone could come up with a reliable method that would allow a weapon to be fired when it needed to be fired, without a lot of fuss, but secured when it should be secured, they’d make a lot of money. The current crop of “smart guns” are not particularly reliable, and are of low caliber.
Promote the use and acquisition of new technology. The Presidential Memorandum also directs the departments to review the availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis, and to explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety. In connection with these efforts, the departments will consult with other agencies that acquire firearms and take appropriate steps to consider whether including such technology in specifications for acquisition of firearms would be consistent with operational needs.
Congress should pass a bill requiring all presidential protection to only carry one the few available smart guns. If it’s the guns that are dangerous, well, we want to protect the POTUS and his family correctly, don’t we?
Personally, I really do not have much in the way of pushback on this. It really will have little effect overall, and it won’t affect people who want to purchase a gun legally.
What it won’t do is have any affect on the people who want to use firearms for nefarious purposes. It won’t change the dynamic of turning Democratic Party run cities like, say, Chicago, into safe areas. It does nothing to get guns out of the hands of bad guys, except one or two a year.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: Obama Releases His Bland EO On Guns, Which Won’t Change A Thing »
I realized I shouldn’t dismiss or have disdain for the people who created the movement and have led us to this point, but now, we must take it from here, make it our own, and transition it with language and stakes that will have meaning for my millennial peers. So my fellow millennials, rise up, show up and make noise to send a message. Buy conscientiously and sustainably and forcefully encourage your parents and friends to do the same. This issue needs fresh and innovative ideas so use your vote, use your wallet and use your force because the power is in our hands.
