by David Safier
Today's Star editorial got it right. Obama has been dragging his feet on gun control measures. You can argue whether he could actually move legislation forward by taking a more active role, given the locked-and-loaded mentality of Republicans, but there's no denying, Obama has been keeping his powder dry on this issue. (Sorry for the gratuitous gun metaphors. Sometimes it's hard to control yourself.)
The opening paragraph is strong and pointed.
We're getting nothing but namby-pamby political-speak from President Obama on gun control issues – or worse, silence. That's not good enough.
Later, the editorial calls for gun control legislation on a number of fronts.
During the campaign, Obama said he supported reimposing a ban on military-style assault weapons. We support this as well as a ban on super-capacity ammunition clips; no hunter, target shooter or citizen acting in self-defense needs to fire 30 rounds in a few seconds.
We also support ending a gap in federal law that allows private sellers at gun shows, garage sales and anywhere else to sell a weapon without conducting a background check. Our view is that in order to keep firearms out of the hands of the most dangerous people, anyone who sells a gun should be required to check out the buyer through the instant background-check system or, as in California, do the deal only through a licensed retailer.
We support the Constitution's Second Amendment. Americans value their right to keep and bear arms; any effort to abridge that right faces fierce opposition – and rightly so.
But we believe the need for gun reforms in America is self-evident. There is much that can be done to protect Americans from criminals, drug users and other dangerous people who now can easily acquire deadly weapons.
On this one, I'm with the Star more than Obama. Job well done.
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This is one of those times when we’re going to disagree. True, it’s somewhat unfair for people to attack Obama for his weak stance on gay marriage and a number of other issues, including gun control legislation, because, as you say, he can’t move forward decisively with the Republican scream machine still at its height, post 2010 election. Nonetheless, it’s essential for people to call Obama on his weak stances on some issues, to keep the pressure on.
Obama has shown himself to be a master at looking like he’s conceding defeat, then scoring wins, like passing health care legislation and getting through a bunch of bills during the lame duck session. I’m hoping he’s got something similar happening on the gun control and gay marriage fronts. But until that happens, he needs to know, there’s more work to be done.
The Star is correct — even progressive — on this issue, and because of that, I don’t mind the editorial being tough on Obama.
Au contraire mon frere… The purpose of this Star editorial is to shift blame to Obama for what is Republican intransigence and servitude to the NRA. Given this political reality, there is absolutely nothing Obama can do in the way of gun control legislation. This B.S. opinion is laughable in a state where Republicans just got rid of almost all gun regulations (they will be back in January with the guns-on-campus bill).
My first thought when I read this was “What? The Star wants to attack Obama from the left? On gun control? In Arizona?” How out of touch with reality are the editors of the Star?
If the Star wants reasonable gun control, it will have to work to defeat Republicans and to elect more Democrats. Until then, this issue is not even on the table.