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| NRA's LaPierre accuses Obama of trying to steal gun owners' weapons | NRA's LaPierre accuses Obama of trying to steal gun owners' weapons |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association (NRA) executive who acts as America's gun lobbyist-in-chief, has stepped up his rhetorical clash with Barack Obama by accusing the president of using his second inaugural address to attack the freedoms of law-abiding gun owners. | Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association (NRA) executive who acts as America's gun lobbyist-in-chief, has stepped up his rhetorical clash with Barack Obama by accusing the president of using his second inaugural address to attack the freedoms of law-abiding gun owners. |
| In his trademark firebrand style, LaPierre seized on a single phrase in the Obama speech – the president's exhortation that "we cannot mistake absolutism for principle" – and used it as a launching pad for a prolonged rant against Obama and his policies. Though Obama's comment was not overtly linked to guns, and could equally be seen as a criticism of Republican fiscal absolutism in Congress, LaPierre interpreted the phrase as a direct assault on the NRA and its members. | In his trademark firebrand style, LaPierre seized on a single phrase in the Obama speech – the president's exhortation that "we cannot mistake absolutism for principle" – and used it as a launching pad for a prolonged rant against Obama and his policies. Though Obama's comment was not overtly linked to guns, and could equally be seen as a criticism of Republican fiscal absolutism in Congress, LaPierre interpreted the phrase as a direct assault on the NRA and its members. |
| "I urge our president to use caution when attacking clearly defined absolutes in favor of his principles. When absolutes are abandoned for principles, the US constitution becomes a blank slate for anyone's graffiti," he told an audience of hunters at a Nevada gun conference. | "I urge our president to use caution when attacking clearly defined absolutes in favor of his principles. When absolutes are abandoned for principles, the US constitution becomes a blank slate for anyone's graffiti," he told an audience of hunters at a Nevada gun conference. |
| LaPierre has been relatively mute since the Newtown shooting in which 20 young children and six adults died in Sandy Hook elementary school on 14 December. But the few interventions that he has made into the debate – first in a speech in which he called for armed guards to be posted in every school, and now in his latest attack on Obama – have been marked by their aggressive lack of conciliation in the face of such tragedy. | LaPierre has been relatively mute since the Newtown shooting in which 20 young children and six adults died in Sandy Hook elementary school on 14 December. But the few interventions that he has made into the debate – first in a speech in which he called for armed guards to be posted in every school, and now in his latest attack on Obama – have been marked by their aggressive lack of conciliation in the face of such tragedy. |
| The tone of the comments underlines the rocky path that Obama faces as he attempts to pass three major pieces of gun-control legislation through Congress where the NRA enjoys substantial influence, particularly among Republican members of the House of Representatives and Democrats holding rural seats where gun ownership is popular. Obama has declared his intent to push through Congress an extended requirement for FBI background checks on all gun sales, a limit on the number of rounds that can be stored in magazines and a revised federal ban on military-style assault weapons. | The tone of the comments underlines the rocky path that Obama faces as he attempts to pass three major pieces of gun-control legislation through Congress where the NRA enjoys substantial influence, particularly among Republican members of the House of Representatives and Democrats holding rural seats where gun ownership is popular. Obama has declared his intent to push through Congress an extended requirement for FBI background checks on all gun sales, a limit on the number of rounds that can be stored in magazines and a revised federal ban on military-style assault weapons. |
| Obama did not mention any of these measures in his inaugural speech on Monday. In fact, gun control featured only obliquely in a speech that gave higher billing to climate change, gay marriage and immigration reform. | Obama did not mention any of these measures in his inaugural speech on Monday. In fact, gun control featured only obliquely in a speech that gave higher billing to climate change, gay marriage and immigration reform. |
| The president merely stated that "Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are ... safe from harm." | The president merely stated that "Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are ... safe from harm." |
| But Obama's cautious tone was not matched by LaPierre's response. He accused the president of "name-calling" gun owners as extremists, and of attempting to steal their weapons – a charge that the NRA has made repeatedly over the past four years and that Obama has repeatedly denied. | But Obama's cautious tone was not matched by LaPierre's response. He accused the president of "name-calling" gun owners as extremists, and of attempting to steal their weapons – a charge that the NRA has made repeatedly over the past four years and that Obama has repeatedly denied. |
| "Obama wants to put every private, personal firearms transaction right under the thumb of the federal government and he wants to keep all of those names in a massive federal registry. There's only two reasons for a federal list on gun owners – to either tax 'em or take 'em," the NRA chief said. | "Obama wants to put every private, personal firearms transaction right under the thumb of the federal government and he wants to keep all of those names in a massive federal registry. There's only two reasons for a federal list on gun owners – to either tax 'em or take 'em," the NRA chief said. |
| LaPierre's remarks suggest that the NRA intends to focus its wrath against any attempt by the White House to introduce a federal registry to record the details of owners of older assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. One of the weaknesses of the previous federal ban on guns and clips that lapsed in 2004, was that it did not cover items manufactured before the ban was introduced in 1994, allowing large numbers of weapons to continue to circulate without any controls. | LaPierre's remarks suggest that the NRA intends to focus its wrath against any attempt by the White House to introduce a federal registry to record the details of owners of older assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. One of the weaknesses of the previous federal ban on guns and clips that lapsed in 2004, was that it did not cover items manufactured before the ban was introduced in 1994, allowing large numbers of weapons to continue to circulate without any controls. |
| Under plans for a revised and strengthened ban, the White House is exploring the idea of requiring existing owners to register with local law enforcement as a way of ensuring the deadly weapons and magazines do not fall into the wrong hands. As LaPierre indicated, that will be hotly contested by the NRA and its allies who are likely to portray it as the imposition of overweening federal power in the destruction of individual freedoms. | Under plans for a revised and strengthened ban, the White House is exploring the idea of requiring existing owners to register with local law enforcement as a way of ensuring the deadly weapons and magazines do not fall into the wrong hands. As LaPierre indicated, that will be hotly contested by the NRA and its allies who are likely to portray it as the imposition of overweening federal power in the destruction of individual freedoms. |
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