Speaking earlier this week at MacDill AFB in Florida, President Barack Obama once again demonstrated hypocrisy about firearms, and hinted that this nation’s gun rights might contribute to the domestic terrorist threat.
Obama told his military audience:
“The United States of America is not a place where some citizens have to withstand greater scrutiny or carry a special ID card or prove that they’re not an enemy from within.”
Except if you want to purchase a firearm, and especially carry it in public for personal protection, that is. In his home state of Illinois, gun owners are required to have a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) Card. Background checks, waiting periods in some jurisdictions and “good cause” requirements that never seem to be good enough all are roadblocks to gun owners. And the president, who has about six weeks remaining in office, added this:
“We’re a country that has bled and struggled and sacrificed against that kind of discrimination and arbitrary rule here in our own country and around the world.”
Except that if you’re an armed citizen exercising your right to keep and especially bear arms, this president has worked with gun prohibition groups that encourage discrimination against gun owners. So-called “gun-free zones” can be found in just about every major city, and private business owners are encouraged to prohibit firearms in their establishments.
And then, when he was talking about the threat of radicalized extremists, Obama observed that, “Somebody who is trying to kill and willing to be killed is dangerous, particularly when we live in a country where it’s very easy for that person to buy a very powerful weapon.” This remark comes at about 19 minutes into his speech, which may be viewed here.
Obama isn’t the only person guilty of the double standard. Six communities in Maryland, according to the Washington Post, allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. Maryland, meanwhile, has some of the toughest gun laws in the country and getting a carry permit in that state is next to impossible.
So, while non-citizens can vote, law abiding citizens are essentially prohibited from exercising their constitutionally-protected civil right. And ever since the McDonald ruling in 2010, the Second Amendment extends to the states via the 14th Amendment.
Related:
Obama’s Failure on Gun Control a Success for Second Amendment
