President Obama cries while speaking of gun violence victims.
President Obama admitted Thursday evening that he has never owned a gun in his life – and then he proceeded to tell more than 300 million Americans why the federal government should do more to restrict their rights to own one.
Obama made his case for gun control Thursday in a nationally televised town hall meeting held two days after his tear-filled announcement of 10 new executive actions he believes will slash gun violence.
He appeared on CNN at 8 p.m. EST for a “Guns in America” event to build support for his executive orders changing the way gun sales are monitored and carried out and redefining a gun “dealer” to include almost any private citizens who sell even a single gun annually. The hour-long event was moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and is said to have included pro- and anti-gun activists.
The president tried to calm fears that he is trying to take away Americans’ guns, calling that idea “imaginary fiction.”
“I think it’s useful to keep in mind I’ve been president for over seven years, and gun sales don’t seem to have suffered during that time,” said Obama, after admitting he has never owned a gun. “They’ve gone up.”
He added, “The way it is described, is that we are trying to take away everybody’s guns. Our position is consistently mischaracterized. If you listen to the rhetoric, it is so over-the-top, it is so overheated.”
Obama said there are Americans who are responsible gun owners, but he claimed there are neighborhoods in America where it is easier and cheaper for a 13-year-old to buy a gun than to purchase a book.
“I respect the Second Amendment. I respect the right to bear arms,” he said. “I respect the people who want a gun for self-protection, for hunting for sportsmanship.”
Even while only 1 percent of criminals have purchased firearms from gun shows, Obama claimed people will buy vans filled with guns from gun shows and sell them on the street illegally.
“All we’re saying here is that we want to put everybody on notice that the definition of doing business … is if you are making a profit and repeatedly selling guns, you should follow the rules of every other gun dealer.”
He added, “We may be able to save a whole bunch of families from the grief that some of the people in this audience have had to go through.”
Obama addressed gun owners in the audience, noting that they had to go through background checks to get the firearms. The president claimed his measures are “respectful of the Second Amendment.”
The forum included 100 people invited by CNN, including gun-control advocates former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in 2011, and her husband, Mark Kelly. Also present was Taya Kyle, widow of Chris Kyle, the U.S. soldier portrayed in the movie “American Sniper.” Chris Kyle was shot and killed in 2013.
Taya Kyle told Obama: “The laws that we create don’t stop these horrific things from happening. … By the very nature of their crime, they’re not following [the law].”
She said criminals “can do the same amount of damage with a pipe bomb.”
“We are at the lowest murder rate in our country,” Kyle said. “We’re at an all-time high for gun sales. … I want the hope that I have the right to protect myself, that I don’t end up like one of these families.”
She called expanded background checks a “false sense of hope.”
Obama conceded that violent crime has steadily declined and U.S. cities are becoming safer.
“I challenge the notion that the reason for that is there’s more gun ownership,” he said, arguing that crime hasn’t dramatically decreased in areas with more gun ownership.
Another woman named Kimberly, a survivor of rape and a mother to two small children, told Obama: “I have been unspeakably victimized already, and I refused to let that happen again to myself and my kids.” She said Obama’s measures are “actually making myself and my family less safe.”
Obama told her, “There’s nothing we propose that it would make it harder for you to have a firearm. … There really is nothing that we’re proposing that hurts you or makes it harder for you to purchase a firearm. There are always questions about whether or not having a firearm in the home protects you from that kind of violence. … What is true is that you have to be pretty well trained to fire a weapon against somebody who is assaulting you and catching you by surprise. There’s always the possibility that having that firearm in the home leads to a tragic accident.”
He said his measures would help prevent her assailant from obtaining a weapon.
On Wednesday, the National Rifle Association said it would not send representatives to the event.
“The National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told CNN.
Obama took a moment to condemn the NRA, claiming he has invited officials to the White House on numerous occasions with no luck.
He said of the NRA: “I’m happy to talk to them. But the conversation has to be based on facts and truth … not some imaginary fiction that Obama’s trying to take away your guns.”
A newly released CNN/ORC poll says most Americans support Obama’s executive actions. According to CNN, 67 percent of respondents said they support the changes (85 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans).
However, 57 percent of respondents said Obama’s executive actions won’t decrease the number of people killed by guns. Notably, 54 percent of all respondents disapprove of Obama’s decision to use executive actions to bypass Congress on the issue.
In 2013, Obama was unsuccessful in his push for tighter gun laws after the Sandy hook shooting. Every time he issues new executive actions, gun sales tend to soar.
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