Pretty Much Everything Barack Obama Said About Gun Violence Was Wrong

Townhall.com:

The president’s emotional plea for us to politicize mass shootings to curb Second Amendment rights was explicitly clear Thursday night. The president cited what he considers to be the facts that support his narrative on the issue of gun violence in America. Namely, that the American people, including gun owners, want stricter gun laws, that it’s easy to obtain firearms, and that the UK and Australia have passed laws that reduced mass shootings.

Let’s start with the polling. 

First, the support for gun control has waned since Newtown, with support dropping below 50 percent. Second, 60 percent feel that guns in the home make them safer. Third, the majority of American feel more guns reduce crime. Fourth, as a result, it’s no surprise that 68 percent of Americans feel safer in neighborhoods that are packing heat. Fifth, support for gun rights is at a 25-year high. 

As for the ability for one to buy a firearm, it’s true that for years Americans thought it was too easy to buy guns. That’s not the case anymore; 49 percent think it’s just about right, while 41 percent think it’s too easy.
Regarding the UK and Australia, they’re our allies–yes. But that doesn’t mean they’re good at gun policy, nor does it mean we should follow their lead with policies that amount to gun confiscation--something that will be incredibly hard to pull off, and most likely unconstitutional, given that the U.S. has 300-350 million guns housed in over 100 million homes. So, sorry, Mr. President, but we’re not like them. We have a Bill of Rights that prevent us from enacting similar policies over here–for which I am eternally grateful.

As I wrote earlier today, the National Review’s Charles Cooke described this un-serious attitude liberals and anti-gun advocates have regarding solutions to these awful incidents, as if whoever shows they’re the most passionate about stopping mass shootings gets the big, stuffed panda bear in the end. Cooke stressed that this isn’t a competition for who is the most “vexed.” It’s a public policy debate, and the pro-gun control side has nothing to offer that could stop mass shootings. Again, there is a debate on how to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining firearms. The president is right that America isn’t the only nation dealing with how to treat and detect mental illness, but the vast majority of the perpetrators of mass shootings have exhibited serious signs of mental instability. 

Adam Lanza, Elliot Rodger, Aaron Alexis, Jared Lee Loughner, and John Russel Houser all committed mass shootings–and all were mentally ill. In some cases, like Alexis, if he had been properly reported, his security clearance would have been revoked and the Navy Yard shooting would have never occurred. It’s a tedious debate that touches upon the right to privacy, federalism, constitutional rights, doctor-patient confidentiality, and to add more to the pile–a comprehensive rundown of mental illnesses that should prohibit one who is afflicted with mental problems from owning firearms. It's quite the Gordian knot regarding policy, but even Alexander the Great was able to untie it. We can do so here. The majority of states voluntarily submit mental health records into the federal National Instant Background Check System [NICS]. How can we improve this, given that it’s not going to be shocking if we find out that the Oregon shooter, Chris Harper-Mercer, was mentally disturbed? Both sides agree on this issue, yet it’s the gun control side that wants to shove this on the periphery so we could either tip-toe around what they really want–gun confiscation–or have another painfully ineffective talking point shouting match over background checks.

Yes, the public is for background checks. I’m for background checks. Almost every law-abiding gun owner supports background checks, but expanding them in the way prescribed by the anti-gun left is neither effective nor smart policy unless it includes something to deal with the mentally ill, and that is going to take some time to debate. At the same time, we know that gun control advocates cling onto this talking point for dear life because it’s the only part of their agenda that polls well. On the other hand, 64 percent do support a gun registry, which is depressing, though gun owners generally oppose this–and they’re the side that’s going to show up at the polls when decision time comes.

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