Gun control is a topic that consumes the minds of a lot of people. With increased violence from gun shootings around the United States, many people wonder what local authorities and government are doing to solve this growing problem. It seems that guns continue to reach the hands of those that would do others harm far too often. Well, this is a concern not just for the American public, but for the President of the United States as well.
President Obama is not known for his whimsical sunny personality in public, but when it comes to guns, specifically gun violence, his emotional side comes to life. In October of 2015 president Obama said with utter frustration and disbelief, “we’ve become numb to this,” after reports of yet another mass tragedy due to gun violence came to light.
That day, as president Barack Obama wept, with his voice noticeably cracking from anger and frustration, he lashed out at lawmakers. He even called some of them cowards as the president eventually led a congregation in the song “Amazing Grace”. There were times when the President even questioned the nation, wondering and asking why other Advanced and developed countries aren’t plagued by continual gun violence. He also asked why the American people will not simply choose to stop senseless killing and bloodshed.
Last year, Obama’s presidency saw a rash of killings due to gun violence in California, Oregon, and South Carolina. Thus, after going through a series of emotions that included, sadness, frustration, grief, and anger, Obama then touched on his own failure to deal with the difficult politics of gun control early on in his presidency. However, despite all of the Presidents emotions on the subject, he, as well as the Republican Congress and other Democrats, have all failed to tighten up gun laws with any real significance.
On Tuesday, January 4th 2016, The President of The United States will give an outline of a number of executive actions he plans to take on guns. This will include increasing the parameters for mandatory background checks for private gun purchasers. Obama would also like to increase funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, FBI staff, and Explosives agents, and of course treatment for mental health sufferers.
The President told the reporters that were assembled in the Oval Office on Monday that, “These are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they are also ones that the overwhelming majority of American people, including gun owners, support and believe in.” Obama will also seek more public support at a live town hall meeting, hosted by CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper, Thursday January 7th at 8 p.m. ET.
Barack Obama wants to make gun violence a major priority in his final year in the Oval Office. This comes days before his final State of the Union address. The President states that he simply wants to implement ‘common sense’ gun safety procedures. However, there are Republicans, as well as lead Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who believe that Obama is just trying to make gun buying impossible for law abiding citizens.
In 2008, in a Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Obama was quoted as saying, “what we have to do is get beyond the politics of this issue.” This seems to be exactly what the President is aiming to do in his final year of office, as it relates to gun control. However, Paul Ryan called the President “dismissive” towards the Second Amendment. Mr. Ryan said on Monday, “while we don’t know the details of the plan, the President is at minimum subverting the legislative branch, and potentially overturning its will.” He also went on to say that,”his proposal to restrict gun rights were debated by the United States Senate, and they were rejected. No President should be able to reverse legislative failure by executive fiat, not even incrementally.”
The President has received support from his own party, and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. She said on a recent radio interview that, “we’ve got to act, but I don’t think that’s enough and I think we’re going to have to keep pushing forward on the political front and I intend to do that.”
It’s clear that President Barack Obama has deep emotions concerning gun control in America. His sadness, anger, and frustration are well founded and definitely seems to be directly related to gun violence and not gun ownership. The President, Congress, and the rest of the government need to come together to promote stricter rules for criminals and those that would do others harm with guns. Let’s face it, criminals will always find a way to get guns, but the fight to keep these weapons out of their hands must not stop. Good must be even more relentless than evil, otherwise good will not win.
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