Reinstating gun bans and limiting ammunition will of course take legislative actions...Obama can't unilaterally do that. But at its core, banning certain styles of weapons (that aren't military grade, mind you) from law-abiding citizens won't do a damn thing to stop criminals who want to murder! This is utopian supposition. And the mere mention of a new 'gun-trafficking law' is beyond the pale, considering the Fast & Furious scandal! Though many might actually find some agreement with strengthening background checks, where's the boisterous ACLU on privacy rights here? Silent. Shouldn't a national database consist of criminals who have a history of gun violence? Why have a database of law-abiding citizens who own guns? And is throwing money at the states to get them to join in on such a database the right way to proceed? This is however an administration that likes to pry evermore into our lives and spend taxpayer funds endlessly, so why should this be any exception? More research, more regulations, more eyes on you...and you'll pay for it.
One action that Obama signed through executive order, particularly does nothing to solve the repeated request that NRA's Wayne LaPierre stressed on every media outlet and asked of our federal government...(via NationalJournal)
School Safety: The administration, through executive order, will allow local communities to use money under the “COPS” initiative — which is aimed at putting more police officers on the street — to hire “school resource officers” who could help improve safety in schools. The White House would also make more money available to cities and towns to allow them to hire more mental-health workers for schools. The administration will also work with schools to develop emergency plans that could help them become better equipped to respond to incidents such as a shooting.Do you see anything in there that would allot for armed protection of our children? Nope. No one to stop an armed intruder...just more oversight of kids, more run-and-hide planning, and more bureaucracy that doesn't protect our children. Protection for thee, but not for me...and mine? And why is a separate proposal of combating bullying, which in itself is not a terrible idea, being run through the HHS? We do have a federal Dept. of Education, you know? Perhaps that's more that Obama wants to tie into ever expanding ObamaCare regulations.
Speaking of ObamaCare, the President also signed an executive order clarifying that doctors and therapists are allowed to report threats of gun violence. Be on your P's and Q's at the doctor's office. And apparently, going on a mass murder spree is now a disease, because the CDC has been ordered to start researching gun violence, even though prior legislation forbids them to do so. Ehh, no matter. Other proposals also include reviewing the prohibition of gun ownership to certain persons (this is already law for felons and some disabled, so who else does he have in mind?), and nominating a permanent head for the ATF. Umm, why has that taken so long? Better yet, why does that require an executive order? Oh, and remember the previous mention of the Fast & Furious scandal? Take another look at who Obama wants to be the ATF's first permanent director.
Let me be clear...the criticism of these proposals is not simply about being against ideas or Obama himself. Conservatives and liberals could find common ground on some of these recommendations, like strengthening background checks. Perhaps we should discuss and develop better ways of detecting and dealing with the mentally deranged among us. But the simple fact is that government, no matter how much it tries (and we know they try), will never be able to legislate morality, or rather good and evil. And the statist manner in which Obama and his cohorts go about these radical moves with breakneck speed and a disregard for constitutional processes give pause for much concern.
The culmination of these proposals are merely the springboard for Big Government's overarching gun-control agenda for America. What it all boils down to, what it's always boiled down to throughout the expanse of the progressive movement, is to squeeze more of the lawful citizens' liberties to turn over to government's control for the promise of more safety, more security...a promise they cannot guarantee. And that's something the Framers never envisioned for a free people.
