Elections and Gun Control

Last night President Obama spoke to the National Urban League in New Orleans and for the first time since the movie theater shootings in Aurora, he signaled his support for stricter gun laws. Despite the media's constant rallying cry for gun control over the past week, Obama has been very careful not to speak the words "gun control". He knows it's election suicide.

"I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms," Obama said. "But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not on the streets of our cities."

Now, Obama has been much more honest about his beliefs on gun control in the past but I'm guessing Axelrod and crew have been poll-testing the hell out of "gun control" and they're seeing a loser. This recent Rasmussen poll (taken after the shootings) shows only 41% support for stricter gun laws. A Gallup poll taken after the Gabby Giffords shooting revealed a whopping 26% support for a handgun ban.

So, if you're Obama, what can you do? Enter the Orwellian phrase "curbing (tackling, taking on, reducing, etc) gun violence".

Most of the Obama-loving press knows what is going on here and are willing to play along. Others just can't seem to help themselves, and are trying to drag Obama over the finish line into "gun control". Watching this play out last night in the headlines was entertaining.

Chicago Tribune: Obama pledges to tackle gun violence after Colorado killing

CNN: Obama takes on gun violence in New Orleans speech

Reuters: Obama pledges to tackle gun violence after Colorado killing

ABC: Obama Renews Push to Reduce Gun Violence

LA Times: Obama calls for more steps to curb violence, including gun control. Oops, you went too far!

NBC: Obama addresses gun control for first time since Aurora shootings. And now the cat is out of the bag.

The Hill: Obama: 'Common sense' gun control for criminals, mentally ill

New York Mag: Obama Pushes Gun Control, Says Some Restrictions Should Be 'Common Sense'.

This is one of the few times you will see the press actively hurting President Obama's reelection chances, though they probably don't know it. Just how dangerous an issue is this for the President? Laura waded over to Democratic Underground and found a bunch of lefties tearing apart gun control. A sampling:

RKBA defenders know that "reasonable gun control" is code for whatever increment of civil rights we can take away TODAY. They also know that many (most?) in the gun control crowd will not be satisfied until firearms have been effectively banned.

Register all firearms? A necessary first step to confiscating all firearms, so why agree to it?

A limit on the amount of ammunition you could possess? Suppose it started at 1,000 rounds - how long before the gun control crowd was screaming about reducing it to 50 rounds?

Knowing that no amount of gun control will ever satisfy a substantial number of gun control people, why would a pro-gun person agree to concede anything? Next year, "reasonable gun control" will just mean greater and greater restrictions.

From a personal perspective, I've heard enough from the likes of McCarthey, Bloomberg, the Bradys, Schumer, et al not to trust them one bit when it comes to this issue.

Gun control is a terrible issue for Obama to tackle this close to an election; hopefully the press can shame him into saying what he really believes.

posted by JohnE. at 12:44 PM

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