On the issue of gun control the democratic candidates in their Nevada debate seemed to be in uniformly against the complete ban of guns and seemed to emphasize a desire to protect the rights of those who lawfully obtain and use their weapons. While the Hillary in this debate took the lead and took the hit on the almost impossible plan to establish a national registry, Obama also admitted to the enormous challenge that such an undertaking would entail. Honestly, I cannot blame Obama for backing down from this stance just as Hillary did. Such an undertaking would be almost impossible to get passed given the NRA lobbyists and great opposition to such a system. I do feel however that this is a travesty of the highest order. This would seem to be the best solution to keeping guns out of the wrong people’s hands and making America safer, but I guess if Americans can’t wait for a background check for the safety of other Americans, I shouldn’t be too hopeful for their enthusiasm to get rid of assault weapons either. Obama seems to be a realist on this issue. He realizes the political climate and the American public enough to concede this point, but at the same time he takes a good stance in defending the right to bare arms (when properly regulated). His stat about 34 Chicago public school students gunned down is exactly the point that must be recognized. We must reconcile the two worlds of gun owners through a respectful use of guns in this country and a general crackdown on the accessibility of guns to those who do not deserve them and should not have them.
As for the comments by users concerning this video I found them to be somewhat irrational. While several of the reactions were without a doubt meant to be over the top and several were clearly making a commonly held belief that gun control only hurts law abiding citizens. This is outrageous to me considering the points presented in the debate by Obama and all the democratic candidates for the lawful possession of guns. What? Are people who are just trying to protect themselves going to be sporting their new AK47s all around town? Honestly? And as for protection, lawful possession of guns would still be allowed through the proper channels for those who obey the law. The real problem with the black market is escalation. As average people come to possess more deadly weapons, criminals have to escalate to remain intimidating and dangerous! It is a matter of preventing the most deadly weapons from being necessary; not fueling the escalation until it becomes an all out war in the American streets. This is all Obama and the other candidates are trying to say. They are not trying to take guns out of law-abiding citizens’ hands. They are trying to keep guns out of the hands of every would-be gunman, who would not normally have any access to weapons but now has access to assault weapons and an unlimited amount of bullets per clip. To me hunting and protection can be handled without unlimited clips and assault weapons… but maybe that’s just me.
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