Gun control was the issue of the week. The President issued 23 Executive “actions” Wednesday, proving that he is the most power-hungry president ever, right?
Maybe not. A cursory reading of the 23 leads to the conclusion that he was all talk and no action on guns. Action number one, for example, declares that the President will “issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.” That’s benign enough, isn’t it? Background checks aren’t unreasonable.
And then there’s number seven, as harmless as ever: “Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.” Aside from the fact that it will probably end up costing billions of dollars, who could be against that? Is anyone for the unsafe and irresponsible ownership of guns?
But wait, we skipped “action” number six. It reads, “[the federal government shall] publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.” What does that mean? Is it just poorly written, or has Obama declared that gun dealers need help doing their job?
Here’s my favorite (it’s action number 19). Obama is going to “develop model emergency-response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.” The federal government is going to come up with a way for children, churchgoers, and college students to run and hide when a maniac barges in intent to kill as many people as possible. No matter who you are or where you are, if you learn to escape a predator, you won’t have to worry about shooting if necessary. So no need for guns!
The 2nd Amendment aside, there are pragmatic reasons for being opposed to gun control. A woman in Atlanta, for example, was at home with her two children a week or so ago, and when she recognized that someone was trying to break into her house, she and her kids retreated to a closet upstairs. The intruder, after ransacking the first floor of the house, made it up to her bedroom closet, where she and the children were hiding. She was holding a 38, and she used it, hitting the bad guy in the face five times. He was still able to get away (he crashed his car just down the road), but she saved the lives of her children.
That story made news because she actually fired. And it worked. We can’t quantify the number of lives saved because someone with a gun threatened to fire. We can, though, make an educated guess that if someone manages his way into a school or a church determined to shoot and kill as many people as possible, a bullet or three in his leg is the most effective way to stop him from killing.
Obama’s 23 Executive “actions” Wednesday were composed to mollify those of us who value the right to own a firearm. They are vacuous. And, most conspicuously, they are conspicuous. When was the last time a president scheduled a speech to detail an executive order? They’re usually issued in private. When Obama signs off on the real gun restrictions he has in mind, rest assured that no cameras will be present.
The World According To Will
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