President Obama held a press conference today announcing twenty-three new executive actions he claimed would help curb gun violence in America. The event was a blantant and disgusting explotation of children deserving of universal condemnation. From the beginning it was glaringly obvious that the intent was to stir emotion, and to cause people to suspend common sense.
Vice President Biden began the presser by saying, "Before, before I begin today, let me say to the families of the innocents who were murdered 33 days ago, our heart, our heart goes out to you. And you show incredible courage, incredible courage being here. And the president and I are going to do everything in our power to honor the memory of your children and your wives with, with the work we take up here today."
Biden then went on to remind everyone that thirty-three days have passed since, "the nation’s heart was broken by the horrific, senseless violence that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty, twenty, beautiful first-graders gunned down in a place that’s supposed to be their second sanctuary."
The shooting at Sandy Hook was no doubt a horrible tragedy. We should absolutely do everything in our power to try to prevent these types of events from occuring. Everything short of violating the Constitution, and assaulting individaul liberty. But then again, we know the motto of this administration:
"Never let a good crisis go to waste."
"The world has changed, and it’s demanding action," Biden said.
"It's for the kids!"
Well, not just the kids, some adults have been shot by evil, out of control guns in the past too, in case you didn't know.
Biden introduced a man named Colin Goddard. Mr. Goddard is a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. The Vice President then said that he asked Mr. Goddard what he thought should be done to curb gun violence.
According to Biden, Goddard answered by saying, “I’m not here because of what happened to me. I’m here because of what happened to me keeps happening to other people, and we have to do something about it.”
Biden's response? "Colin, we will. Colin, I promise you, we will. This is our intention. We must do what we can now. And there’s no person who is more committed to acting on this moral obligation we have than the president of the United States of America."
What happened at Virginia Tech was also a tragedy, thankfully Mr. Goddard survived, but many others didn't. But the issue here isn't what happened to Mr. Goddard personally.
When Obama stepped up to the podium, framed by the faces of the young children surrounding him, you could easily imagine the effect this propaganda piece was about to have on the uninformed voter sitting at home watching on television, tears streaming, sans all knowledge of our Constitution. Or any real understanding of why the second amendment exists in the first place.
Obama quickly continued the theme by reminding us in his opening statement that, "while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one."
No, it shouldn't be. So why use them as props to help push an unconstitutional power grab?
Obama then reminded us again that it has only been a month since the shooting at Sandy Hook, and then he told us about the many letters he started receiving from kids after the tragedy occurred.
He read their pleas for government intervention to stop gun violence, so we could all see that the problem is so pervasive that even a child can see something must be done. Something drastic. Now.
He read from a letter sent to him by a young boy named Grant Fritz, who was in attendance, “I think there should be some changes. We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad.”
And then from a letter written by a little girl named Julia Stokes, who was also there being exploited for political purposes, “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others. I have four brothers and sisters, and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.”
These children's feelings and emotions are absolutely understandable. But we are adults. Adults do not react based on our emotions. We rely on common sense, and the wisdom we have gained by years of experience in real life situations. Obama conveniently left out the fact that these kids know little or nothing about the Constitution, the second amendment, or the vigilance required to preserve our freedom.
As adults, when children are afraid in the aftermath of events like the Sandy Hook shooting, it is our responsibility to explain these things to them in a way they can understand. To teach them how precious our liberty is, and what we must do to protect it. They are also completely unaware of how much our nation has changed over the years, and how politicians have been using tragedies to chip away at our freedom for a long time. It is our responsibility to teach them that too, and to stand up to tyranny.
By shamelessly exploiting them in such a manner Obama seeks to make this issue as divisive as possible, even as he says it should not be divisive. The whole despicable display was meant to shield Obama from any criticism. After all, if you oppose what he wants to do, it means you want kids like those he used today to die.
"Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there’s even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try," the President said later in his remarks.
Yes, but not at the expense of freedom. Which is precisely the reason the Constitution, and especially the second amendment, exist in the first place. And saving "even one life" is not worth throwing away the freedom of the entire nation.
The second amendment is not about hunting, nor is it simply about being able to prtotect your home in the event of a robbery or home invasion. While it does protect those rights, its true purpose is far more important.
The second amendment exists to prevent any possibility of a corrupt, tyrannical administration from sending federal troops against the citizens of this country. It does not mean we should be allowed to possess every type of weapon the military has, but we do have an absolute right to arm ourselves in such a manner that our government would know that if they tried to use military force against us the result would be unthinkable.
In fact, our founders recommended that we not keep a standing army, but that the citizens of our nation should be armed an ready to be called to defend the nation if the need arose. They absolutely envisioned the possibilty of the military-industrial complex we have today. And they did not want the population to fear a standing army may someday be sent against them.
You say the government would never send troops against its own citizens? Well, it happened a little more than 150 years ago. And it started right here in South Carolina. What kind of crazy talk is that, you ask? Where were you when your teacher was talking about the civil war?
And there have been many other instances. Kent State. Ruby Ridge. Waco. The list is quite large actually.
The government would never violate the civil rights of its citizens and imprison them illegally, you say? Ask The Japanese-Americans who were rounded up and thrown into internment camps during WWII about that one.
And don't forget the recent passage of the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act, which gives the government the power to arrest and indefinitely incarcerate any citizen, and hold them indefinitely without charges. They are not even required to admit that they have the person in custody.
Below is a list of the executive actions issed by Obama today. Read through them. Now convince me that if each and every one of these actions had been in place all along that any of the mass shootings that have taken place would have been prevented. You can't, because they wouldn't have done a thing to prevent any of them.
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).
9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
11. Nominate an ATF director.
12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.
This list has some troubling parts. It is extremely vague for the most part, but appears to give AG Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius some undefined new powers to issue new gun regulations. It also appears to be a good excuse for putting some of our money in the pockets of others, with new programs, studies, and initiatives. It will do nothing to stop a single shooting.
Nor will his proposed ban on high-capacity magazines. Very few of the lunatics involved in these mass shootings used high-capacity magazines. And even if they are banned, what evil person with the intent to murder a bunch of people and then take his own life would be disuaded by a law banning his clip? Or carrying more guns?
What about banning so-called "assault rifles?" First of all there isn't even such a classification as "assault rifle." Most of the rifles people refer to as "assault rifles" are exactly the same as other rifles as far as caliber and capabilities, except for some changes that are purely cosmetic. For instance, replacing the wooden stock with a plastic one, which makes it look less like a hunting rifle, and more like a military-style weapon. The only difference is the way it looks. So should we all ban guns that look scary? Will that save any lives?
None of the proposals made by Obama today should be passed by Congress. We have thousands of gun laws on the books and adding more will not curb gun violence, it will only turn law-abiding Americans into criminals. No person intent on committing such a horrific crime as a mass shooting gives a flip about any gun laws and they will simply ignore them.
The fact is, and F.B.I statistics bear this out, where there are more guns there is less crime. While the number of guns in the U.S. has risen from around 192 million 20 years ago to around 325 million today, the rate of both violent crime and murder has dropped 49%. Why? It's common sense. Criminals seek out easy targets.
Another interesting fact, hammers were used in more murders last year than "assault rifles." Where is the national outrage and the calls for strict regulations on hammers?
Why do gunmen go to schools, and malls, and movie theaters to carry out their evil deeds? Because in nearly every case it is a gun-free zone. Why do we have armed guards at airports? To prevent anyone from attacking and killing a large number of people at one time. We have armed guards at sporting events for the same reason. Why not put them in schools? That would do more to stop gun violence than anything Obama proposed today. But nothing, absolutley nothing, will ever totally eliminate evil, or stop crazy in its tracks.
Even if you take away all guns people with evil intent will find another way. Just yesterday at a university in Syria a bomb blast killed 82 people initially, and left scores of injured. The death toll was expected to rise significantly. Even if you banned and confiscated every gun in the country evil doers would find a method to perpetrate their madness.
The bottom line is common sense must prevail. Knee-jerk reactions and rushing to do something, anything, because we are emotional, usually results in making matters worse. What other major decisions have you made lately based on letters from fearful children?
It's time for the adults to take charge again, to stand up. And time for President Obama and the emotional progzombies in this country to stand down.
Comments