Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Obama issues call for gun ban
messages @whitehouse.gov ^ | 12/21/12 | Reed

Posted on 12/21/2012 9:40:04 AM PST by pabianice

A Message from President Obama about Your Petition on Reducing Gun Violence

In the days since the tragedy in Newtown, Americans from all over the country have called for action to deter mass shootings and reduce gun violence. Hundreds of thousands of you have signed petitions on We the People.

I'm writing you today to thank you for speaking up, to update you on an important development, and to encourage you to continue engaging with the White House on this critical issue.

First, you should know that President Obama is paying close to attention to the public response to this tragedy. In fact, he sat down to record a message specifically for those of you who have joined the conversation using We the People. Watch it now:

On Wednesday, the President outlined a series of first steps we can take to begin the work of ending this cycle of violence. This is what he said:

"We know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and political divides. And as I said on Sunday night, there's no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. We're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. We're going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. And any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts.

But the fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing. The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence, and prevent the very worst violence."

Vice President Biden has been asked to work with members of the Administration, Congress, and the general public to come up with a set of concrete policy proposals by next month -- proposals the President intends to push swiftly. The President asked the Vice President to lead this effort in part because he wrote and passed the 1994 Crime Bill that helped law enforcement bring down the rate of violent crime in America. That bill included the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.

As the Vice President's Chief of Staff, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure we run a process that includes perspectives from all sides of the issue, which is why I wanted to respond to your petition myself. Two decades ago, as domestic policy adviser in the Clinton White House, I first worked with Joe Biden as he fought to enact the Crime Bill, the assault weapons ban, and the Brady Bill. I will never forget what a key role the voices of concerned citizens like you played in that vital process.

The President called on Congress to pass important legislation "banning the sale of military-style assault weapons," "banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips," and "requiring background checks before all gun purchases, so that criminals can’t take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won’t take the responsibility of doing a background check at all."

An issue this serious and complex isn't going to be resolved with a single legislative proposal or policy prescription. And let's be clear, any action we take will respect the Second Amendment. As the President said:

"Look, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. This country has a strong tradition of gun ownership that's been handed down from generation to generation. Obviously across the country there are regional differences. There are differences between how people feel in urban areas and rural areas. And the fact is the vast majority of gun owners in America are responsible -- they buy their guns legally and they use them safely, whether for hunting or sport shooting, collection or protection.

But you know what, I am also betting that the majority -- the vast majority -- of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few from buying a weapon of war. I'm willing to bet that they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to get his hands on a military-style assault rifle so easily; that in this age of technology, we should be able to check someone's criminal records before he or she can check out at a gun show; that if we work harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one in Newtown -- or any of the lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns and big cities all across America every day."

The President said it best: "Ultimately if this effort is to succeed it's going to require the help of the American people -- it's going to require all of you. If we're going to change things, it's going to take a wave of Americans -- mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors, law enforcement, mental health professionals -- and, yes, gun owners -- standing up and saying 'enough' on behalf of our kids."

So let's continue this conversation and get something meaningful done. If you have additional ideas and are interested in further engagement with the White House on this issue, please let us know and share your thoughts here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share-your-thoughts-reducing-gun-violence

Thank you for speaking out and staying involved. Stay Connected

Tell us what you think about this response and We the People.

Stay connected to the White House by signing up for periodic email updates from President Obama and other senior administration officials.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 0bamaisgrounded; 3gunmensandy; awb; banballpointpens; banglist; banpencils; banscrewdrivers; bansteakknives; cokeheadinchief; congressshallnotpass; democrats; fastandfurious; ground0bama; guncontrol; nocompromise; nwo; obama; secondamendment; shallnotinfringe; traitor; un; youwillnotdisarmus
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-104 next last
To: pabianice

Any gun control measures will stop at the House of Representatives for sure and probably in the Senate. In Calirado, gun control will stop at a large and convincing enough call (and determination) for voting out certain incumbents.


41 posted on 12/21/2012 11:43:24 AM PST by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Now that it appears that the Mayan calender thing didn’t work out...HELP OBAMA! SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! WE HAVE TOO MUCH FREEDOM! CHAIN US UP AND PROTECT US FROM EACH OTHER!


42 posted on 12/21/2012 11:47:35 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (U.S. elections have become nothing but another cheap ripoff of American Idol.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
But you know what, I am also betting that the majority -- the vast majority -- of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few from buying a weapon of war. I'm willing to bet that they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to get his hands on a military-style assault rifle so easily; that in this age of technology, we should be able to check someone's criminal records before he or she can check out at a gun show; that if we work harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one in Newtown -- or any of the lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns and big cities all across America every day."

He's being very vague here. The guns used were obtained legally by his mom; then taken illegally by the son. Where along the line is he advocating suspending the 2nd amendment?
43 posted on 12/21/2012 11:49:46 AM PST by yorkiemom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Questions that I wonder about

Are Americans too lazy and fat to have another civil war?

What exactly would it take for citizens to stand up and say no?

I what point have enough civil rights be removed for the majority of people to notice?

Are Americans too stupid to even understand what is happening?

PERSONALLY I think that Americans are too lazy and too far gone to do anything about this or any other subject. I think a lot of Americans would enjoy socialism.

Some say there could never be another civil war in America. I wonder.

There are some threads on Free Republic that say it can never happen again.


44 posted on 12/21/2012 12:09:11 PM PST by silentknight
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

To quote Winston Churchill, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Is there really anyone stupid enough to believe it will end with a ban on “assault” weapons?


45 posted on 12/21/2012 12:11:40 PM PST by cpa4you (CPA4YOU)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

“[Assault weapons’] menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully-automatic machine guns versus semi- automatic assault weapons —anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun— can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.” Josh Sugarmann, executive director of New Right Watch, spokesman for the National Coalition to Ban Handguns, “Assault Weapons and Accessories in America,” policy report of New Right Watch and the Education Fund to End Handgun Violence, September 1988

“Our main agenda is to have all guns banned. We must use whatever means possible. It does not matter if you have to distort facts or even lie.”
-Sarah Brady, Handgun Control, Inc., The National Educator, January, 1994

“If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an out right ban, picking up every one of them... ‘Mr. and Mrs. America, turn ‘em all in,’ I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren’t here.”-Dianne Feinstein, Senator, CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes,” February 5, 1995

“Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used and that definite rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of the citizen to bear arms is just one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible.” - Hubert Humphrey(bitter clinger), 1960

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.”- William Pitt, 1783

“Gun bans don’t disarm criminals, gun bans attract them.”- Walter Mondale, U.S. Ambassador to Japan(bitter clinger), April 20, 1994


46 posted on 12/21/2012 12:23:04 PM PST by TurboZamboni (Looting the future to bribe the present)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

And so it begins...


47 posted on 12/21/2012 12:31:14 PM PST by GraceG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Gadsden1st

“Maybe someone needs to send him a copy of “Unintended Consequences”.”

Somebody ought to get that book back into print, QUICKLY.

Even used copies run about $150 at used book outlets...

It can be found on the net in pdf format, if you dig for it...


48 posted on 12/21/2012 12:33:21 PM PST by Road Glide
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Refuse. Resist.


49 posted on 12/21/2012 12:59:38 PM PST by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

The rats an media need to be reminded that they had the house, the senate and the president from 08 to 10. They could have passed this back then .... Ban, confiscation etc ... Was theirs for the taking.

They played politics to win a second term.... Allegedly per their own descriptive agenda ....the reason these kids were murdered....

They had the capabilities, resources and votes to play this the way they want now ..... Then

Posers....


50 posted on 12/21/2012 1:01:42 PM PST by Squantos ( Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet ...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: familyop

Like they stopped Obamacare? They will just strip out a bill from the house and fill it with gun control language and deem it passed.


51 posted on 12/21/2012 1:47:26 PM PST by Gadsden1st
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

I’d love to give my opinion, but I’m sure I’ll get a special visit not long afterwards.


52 posted on 12/21/2012 4:03:10 PM PST by RWB Patriot ("My ability is a value that must be purchased and I don't recognize anyone's need as a claim on me.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Gadsden1st

The house has to pass any bill, before it can become law. No revised bill can be made law without passing in the House. So no, a president can’t simply revise a bill that has passed the House and decree it as law. But on the planet Niburu, maybe such things are possible...or maybe in an episode of the X Files.


53 posted on 12/21/2012 4:14:55 PM PST by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: RWB Patriot

The Government has nothing to fear but .....small arms with clips


54 posted on 12/21/2012 8:35:24 PM PST by KTM rider ( , you'd be lucky to get= $7....LOL !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: familyop
The house has to pass any bill, before it can become law. No revised bill can be made law without passing in the House. So no, a president can’t simply revise a bill that has passed the House and decree it as law. But on the planet Niburu, maybe such things are possible...or maybe in an episode of the X Files.

I'm not aware of a time that Congress has stopped "Obama" from doing whatever he wants to do, unconstitutional or not. He makes his own "bills" and "laws" with his autopen.

55 posted on 12/21/2012 9:48:03 PM PST by WXRGina (Further up and further in!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: tpmintx
από τα κρύα, νεκρά μου χέρια
56 posted on 12/21/2012 9:58:49 PM PST by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: JerseyBob
You know, once they get rid of the second ammendment, they’ll be coming in full force for the first.....

Political Correctness already killed the 1st Amendment.

57 posted on 12/21/2012 10:13:21 PM PST by Conservative_Rob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Conservative_Rob

My 2 cents.

Removing the 2nd would seem to be an extremely difficult task for the uh, “lawmakers”. But if it did happen — actually confiscating all the weapons will be nigh impossible! The loons on the left will learn to their dismay what the Constitution means by “Militia”


58 posted on 12/21/2012 10:56:16 PM PST by Gasshog (Welcome to the United States of Stupidos!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: Lancey Howard
Works for me.


59 posted on 12/21/2012 11:10:39 PM PST by tpmintx (Gun free zones are hunting preserves for unarmed people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
Vice President Biden has been asked to work with members of the Administration, Congress, and the general public...

Half the general public anyway.

The other half can go sh1t in their hat.

60 posted on 12/21/2012 11:24:54 PM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-104 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson