Chicago Tribune: Obama has been Pro Second Amendment!

Steve Chapman is a writer for the Chicago Tribune. He has often written about gun legislation. He stands out at the Tribune as a voice that recognizes reality more often then most.  His writing and viewpoints have been a reasonable voice crying in the wilderness of Chicago.

Unfortunately, he lives in the fantasy bubble of current Progressivism. It is evident in his recent column excoriating the NRA.  He buys into the leftist propaganda without introspection or examination of facts. It is an opinion column, but opinions should have a basis in reality. From chicagotribune.com:

As a gun owner, recreational shooter, former NRA member and longtime advocate of Second Amendment rights, I like to see cogent criticism of gun control proposals and anti-gun propaganda. But under President Barack Obama, the NRA has occupied itself sowing groundless panic and fighting imaginary villains.

Obama made it plain in his first presidential campaign that gun control was not a hill he was willing to die on. He assured gun owners, "I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."  

He fails to point out that President Obama is famous for his prevarications. Why would anyone believe President Obama's promises about future actions any more than his promises about "keeping your doctor, if you want to", "keeping your plan if you like it" or the famous "saving $2,500 a year on your insurance premiums"?  Should we forget the "red line" in Syria? Yes, bringing in Second Amendment supporters was important for him to win the White House. Gee.  He lied.

Chapman admits that President Obama pushed for ending the manufacturing and sale of "assault weapons".  That happens to include the most popular rifle in the country.  Chapman admits that President Obama pushed to ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.  That would be hundreds of millions of the most popular magazines in the country, for scores of millions of rifles and pistols. Chapman admits that President Obama pushed extraordinarily hard for "universal background checks".  Chapman does not mention that he only pushed for the bill that required that firearm serial numbers and personal information be permanently recorded on federal forms. A bill for universal background checks that protected personal privacy, to prevent universal gun registration, was killed by the President's allies in Congress.

Chapman lumps all these actions as insignificant.  He uses this phrase:

"These changes would have a minimal impact on law-abiding gun owners."

That is Steve Chapman's opinion. Millions of American gun owners beg to differ.

Chapman points out that President Obama signed bills that restored the right to bear arms in national parks, forbade the EPA to ban lead bullets, and prevented Amtrack from banning the transport of unloaded guns on its trains. He conveniently fails to mention that all of those measures were included as unwelcome riders on omnibus bills that President Obama desperately wanted to sign.

President Obama never championed those measures, never lobbied for their inclusion, never supported them at all.  Then, after they became law, he has tried to take credit for them.

Champman conveniently fails to mention President Obama's long held antipathy toward general gun ownership, most clearly stated in his remarks to John Lott at the University of Chicago.

Chapman is delusional here.  He lives in the liberal fantasy world of the establishment media and their fake news bubble.
 

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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