Posted by Kromey at 3:58pm Jul 12 '11Staying ever-so-true to his campaign promises of transparent government (</sarcasm>), Obama announced yesterday his new gun control plans, which had been discussed and negotiated behind closed doors.
Transparent government my ass!
Before we take a look at his actual proposals, let's quickly examine one of the important foundational claims on this announcement: The White House claimed that these decisions were made with input from "stakeholders on all sides". Really? The NRA has already stated unequivocally that it was not involved; to my knowledge, the GOA -- the second-largest pro-gun lobbying group -- was not involved either, nor were any of the firearm industry groups. The Brady Group and MAIG, as well as several other lesser-known anti-gun groups, however, were consulted.
So who, I ask, were the "stakeholders" from the pro-2nd Amendment side? I'm seriously asking this -- does anyone know who all was involved, and specifically who the pro-gun group(s) in these talks were? Or is this a bald-faced White House lie?
Oh, and let's not forget the timing of this announcement, either -- smack dab in the middle of an investigation into the huge Fast and Furious scandal, where the ATF literally allowed guns to illegally be sold to straw buyers and then watched idly as they were "smuggled" into Mexico where they have since begun turning up at fatal crime scenes, Obama is now handing the agency responsible for this egregious abuse of power even more authority!
Okay, now, let's look at what he's actually proposing: A new requirement for gun dealers to report multiple sales of semi-auto rifles greater than .22 caliber; considering that .22 is really only good for target shooting and the occasional varmint rodentia, this translates to basically the majority of long gun purchases. Obama forbid that a hunter buy a new gun for himself and his son!
Transparent government my ass!
Before we take a look at his actual proposals, let's quickly examine one of the important foundational claims on this announcement: The White House claimed that these decisions were made with input from "stakeholders on all sides". Really? The NRA has already stated unequivocally that it was not involved; to my knowledge, the GOA -- the second-largest pro-gun lobbying group -- was not involved either, nor were any of the firearm industry groups. The Brady Group and MAIG, as well as several other lesser-known anti-gun groups, however, were consulted.
So who, I ask, were the "stakeholders" from the pro-2nd Amendment side? I'm seriously asking this -- does anyone know who all was involved, and specifically who the pro-gun group(s) in these talks were? Or is this a bald-faced White House lie?
Oh, and let's not forget the timing of this announcement, either -- smack dab in the middle of an investigation into the huge Fast and Furious scandal, where the ATF literally allowed guns to illegally be sold to straw buyers and then watched idly as they were "smuggled" into Mexico where they have since begun turning up at fatal crime scenes, Obama is now handing the agency responsible for this egregious abuse of power even more authority!
Okay, now, let's look at what he's actually proposing: A new requirement for gun dealers to report multiple sales of semi-auto rifles greater than .22 caliber; considering that .22 is really only good for target shooting and the occasional varmint rodentia, this translates to basically the majority of long gun purchases. Obama forbid that a hunter buy a new gun for himself and his son!
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized the Obama administration's decision to impose new reporting requirements for gun sales in states along the U.S.-Mexico Border.Congressman Smith doesn't mention the unfair punishment of hunters and other recreational shooters, foisted upon them in the name of preventing violence in Mexico that's being carried out primarily with very different weapons obtained from the opposite side of that country.
Chairman Smith: "Today's announcement follows months of controversy over the ATF's Fast and Furious program that allowed guns to be trafficked into Mexico without any way of preventing the guns from being used for illegal activity. One of the guns was used in the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. It is the height of hypocrisy for the Obama administration to restrict the gun rights of border state citizens, when the administration itself knowingly and intentionally allowed guns to be trafficked into Mexico.
"Limiting the second amendment rights of law abiding citizens is not going to solve the problem of guns being trafficked into Mexico. An additional reporting requirement won't stop drug cartels from getting weapons. This rule unfairly punishes citizens in Border States who have the right to purchase firearms to protect themselves and their families from dangerous drug traffickers and human smugglers.
"A recent GAO report found that only 44% of the Southwest border is under operational control of the Border Patrol. Forty-four percent is a failing grade. If the Obama administration is serious about preventing guns from being trafficked to Mexico, they simply need to secure the Southwest border, not restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens." (Source)
"Reporting multiple long gun sales would do nothing to stop the flow of firearms to known straw purchasers because many Federal Firearms Dealers are already voluntarily reporting suspicious transactions," [Sen. Chuck] Grassley said in a statement. He said Congressional investigators are aware of at least 150 long gun sales that ATF knew about but didn't prevent from reaching Mexico.Ultimately, this is nothing new -- it's yet more regulation targeting law-abiding gun owners in the name of stopping crime. If the goal is to stop crime, why target those who don't commit crime in the first place?
"This makes it pretty clear that the problem isn't lack of burdensome reporting requirements. The administration's continued overreach with regulations continues, and is a distraction from its reckless policy to allow guns to walk into Mexico," Grassley said. (Source)
"If they [the Obama administration] want to do something serious about stopping crime, they can do the tried-and-true rules and go after criminals. They're not," says Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA. ... "The idea of putting more forms on the honest people is ridiculous. They need to start on something the criminals don't like, which is arresting and incarcerating."
LaPierre said he believes Obama is bypassing lawmakers with these changes because of legislative obstacles. "I don't think he's got any support in Congress for doing this. If he does this, it's going to be bad politics in election time. Law-abiding people are sick of proposals like this that line them up and let the criminals go free." (Source)
added on 4:00pm Jul 12 '11:
I should also highlight that Obama is ordering the ATF to over-reach its legislated authority here, while deliberately avoiding Congress, the body that actually has the authority to grant this authority to the ATF. It's a clear violation of the Constitution's system of checks-and-balances.