F is for firearms: Gun-control advocates give Obama a failing grade
Yikes. It's not enough that Barack Obama has to clean-up the Massachusetts Democratic Party's mess up here in Coakleyville. Now the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence -- the nation's leading anti-handgun organization -- has given Obama a grade of F for his "continuing concessions to the 'guns anywhere' mentality of the gun lobby and
lack of leadership for common-sense gun laws." That's right: the Brady Center is labelling Obama a shill for the gun lobby. The organization's president, Paul Hemke, says, "If I had been told, in the days before Barack Obama’s inauguration, that his
record on gun violence prevention would be this poor, I would not have believed
it . . . We have been very disappointed by his first year record on this issue."Accusing Obama of "back-pedaling" from campaign positions, the Bradys complain that the White House has not simply avoided bringing up gun control but actively supressed gun-control sentiment on Capitol Hill:
"On the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech University tragedy and the tenth
anniversary of the Columbine High School tragedy – as well as after a shooting
in Binghamton, New York that left 13 dead, the shooting of Dr. George Tiller,
the shooting of four police officers by an Obama-hating white supremacist in
Pittsburgh and the shooting of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in
Washington, D.C. – none of President Obama’s public statements included the word
“gun.”
The avoidance of the gun issue has had international
repercussions as well. Despite horrific gun violence related to the war between
drug lords and the government in Mexico and vast evidence that the overwhelming
majority of firearms in the conflict came from the U.S., the White House
silenced two Cabinet members who said the U.S. should consider changing gun
laws. "
Here's a link to their full report, entitled, "President Obama's First Year: Failed Leadership, Lost Lives."
Latest Slideshows
