Obama – Gun Salesman of the Decade
Bill Clinton was President in the spring of 2000 when I volunteered to be an instructor for Presidential Classroom for the second time. PC is a selective high school program in which students spend a week in Washington, D.C., touring many different monuments, government buildings, embassies and museums. The students also hear from leading political officials and meet with the Representatives and Senators from their home districts. I was delighted to find out that my co-instructor was a young Marine named Ray, a smart, funny, delightful man who commanded the respected of the students and other instructors as well.
One of the many stops on our journey through D.C. was a Secret Service tour of the White House. PC has connections. Ray and I had two groups of students with us that day, totaling over 60. We entered through the beautiful front lawn with no security in sight other than one guard on the gate. Beginning our tour of the White House the students were excited to be greeted by a White House employee holding “Socks” the cat.
About 20 minutes into our tour one of the Secret Service Agents looked at me and mouthed silently, “Follow me – get out——NOW!” My heart jumped into my throat but I immediately looked for Ray, who was across the room from me and mouthed the same thing to him —-most likely waving my hands frantically in the process. We immediately went into “command” mode and ushered the students into single file without too much protest and exited the way we had entered. Only this time the lawns, the roof, the trees, the fence line and every other place you can imagine was alive with a SWAT team in full riot gear carrying big guns. I cannot tell you exactly what type weapons they had but they were at minimum semi-automatic rifles (these are what Obama refers to as assault rifles). I would venture a guess that the weapons protecting the White House are fully automatic – as they should be. We all were lead to safety and it was not until that night when we learned by watching the news that some idiot had jumped the fence at the White House. Needless to say, the rest of the D.C. tour paled in comparison, at least to the students!
In December President Obama, in a recorded message, vowed to do everything in his power to reduce gun violence. He once again endorsed an assault weapons ban as well as other gun control measures. He has tasked Joe Biden (grimace) with leading a review of potential legislative proposals covering a wide range of topics. However, Obama offered specific info on those topics only concerning gun control. He called for an assault weapons ban, a ban on high capacity magazines and called for support in closing the so-called gun show loophole.
My opinion on the term assault weapon is simple. The word assault means to make physical attack on. If I pick up a rock and throw it at you and it hits you in the head and harms or kills you, does it become an assault rock? My thinking is no. If I’m the one throwing it, I am committing the assault, not the rock. It is the same when people use guns as weapons. The people commit the assault, not the gun. The AR in AR 15 stands for ArmaLite, the original developer of the weapon. ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt in 1959. The trademark “AR15” or “AR-15” is registered to Colt Industries. It does NOT stand for automatic rifle or assault rifle. So, Mr. President, how can you ban something you cannot even define? Are you going to ban rocks too?
The Washington Times stated that a gun store in Yuma, AZ reported a 70 % increase in sales since the election. The owner of that store, Richard Sprague, told the Times, “People do not want to wait and see selection and availability if there are more government regulations”. Many of those fears are coming to fruition. The Obama administration has endorsed negotiations for the U.N. Arms Treaty. Many in Congress are calling for a ban on semi-automatic firearms with magazines holding over ten rounds. Gun stores are sold out of many type firearms and ammunition. I went into a local gun dealership yesterday and the cupboard was bare. There are waiting lists being developed every day. The prices have gone through the roof and gun dealers are smiling. I cannot speak personally for the rest of the country — but in East Texas, President Obama has become the “Gun Salesman of the Decade”. Gun companies being publically traded are seeing the value of their stocks climb drastically. Both Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. stocks jumped more than 15 percent in the week following the election.
The other side of the story includes gun control radicals like Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg is dedicating many dollars of his personal massive wealth to promote gun control. In the opinion of many, (including me), he is a spoiled, rich, bully. He insists that ordinary New Yorkers be unarmed and therefore unable to protect themselves and their families against violent thugs. Yet, he surrounds himself with armed bodyguards.
The Obamas are protected as well. Every time the President leaves or enters the White House, a SWAT team convenes on the roof. Why, I ask, are their lives and the lives of their children more important than yours or mine? My thought is that Obama’s knee jerk reaction following any crisis involving guns never has any effect on the protection of his family. Webster defines hypocrite as “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings”. Does the shoe fit, Mr. President?
