Mainstream Media’s Headlines on President Obama’s Gun Control Executive Actions – Before His Official Announcement

1. They can write all the headlines they want, it doesn’t change the fact that the actual rulings change very little. (Except for the NFA item which is a net positive.) The ATF could go after you for “being in business” before and they can do it still. Unless he puts a number in place, it doesn’t really change the regulatory framework in any significant way.

   • I do believe that this NFA ruling is the first real “compromise” on gun rights that has happened in decades.
     A REAL compromise means “I give something up, but you give me something in return”. In the minds of the anti-gunners “compromise” means something closer to “I promise to only take half of your rights, and you should be grateful I’m not taking all of them at this time. (I’ll be back for the rest later)”.

     The NFA is still completely illegitimate and unconstitutional, but at least they’ve agreed to buy us dinner first this time…

     • I see it as a net positive. Eliminating CLEO signoffs is a huge step in the right direction. The ability of any CLEO to arbitrarily outlaw all NFA items with no recourse was far more damaging to our rights than the minor hassle of having to submit an extra set of fingerprints and photos every two years.

       • Yep, that’s big news down here in Florida.

         There are a number of Dem controlled counties down here who refuse to sign NFA paperwork.

2. Since when is “Commonsense” one word? SMH.

   • Since twitter?

     You’ll see more and more of this kind of crap.

3. “Dateline: Obama’s poops are solid in consistency and in need of little wiping; First Lady is still displeased with odor.

   Story at 11. ”

   Yep, it’s that exciting, folks.

4. Security Theater on steroids.

   Way to go, MSM…more fluff with no substance. There is nothing in the lameduck hot air that will “curb gun violence.” But, keep selling manufactured news to the sheep…they will lap it up.

   • I am pleased that (at least on paper) it seems more resources are being committed to investigating people who fail the background check, commit straw purchases, etc.

     The Background check system may be unconstitutional, but at least this is in step with what we’ve been telling the anti’s for decades: “ENFORCE THE %@&$ LAWS THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE $#%& BOOKS!”

     • You may have been telling them that. I have been telling them to repeal every law passed since 1900.

     • You do realize the Lion’s Share of NICS denials are false positives, right?

       Most denials only produce delays while legitimate buyers get things straightened out, then the sale goes through.

       Don’t have the link handy for the data to back up my claim, but John Lott talked about this in an interview and he referenced the data.

   • Exactly. What’s more, when this does nothing to stop the next mass casualty event they will start wringing their hands about what more MUST be done to stop EVEN JUST ONE DEATH.

     God forbid the MSM have any honesty in this at all and talk, EVEN ONCE about the number of DFGs that occur per year… or cover EVEN ONE case of a DGU saving potential victims which happens weekly.

     Or perhaps make the shocking observation that lowering the national speed limit to 35 mph as they’ve done in some banana republics would absolutely dramatically cut the number of vehicle fatalities…. but, convenience.

5. Man, it’s like these Liberala didn’t even read the order or don’t understand current laws or something. I guess they think they won a battle that never even happened. I’m sure you could insert a Sun Tzu quote here. I’d say this is pretty big victory for us if this is the toughest he could be.

   • Judging by some of the articles, the lame stream media doesn’t have a single clue about firearms or current laws.

6. More like “Lawless Obama rapes the Constitution with Executive Orders on guns, claims a halo for his High Crimes”

   • More like, “Obama makes NFA items easier to obtain, Dems celebrate Obama closing the gun show loophole,” subheader “….even though he didn’t, because it never existed”

     • Easier to obtain? How do you figure that, now that EVERY member of the trust must submit prints, submit to a background check, and pay fees for all of the above? Oh, because of abolishment of the CLEO sign-off provision? So what? That wasn’t that big a deal, anyway.

       You could get around it with trusts. Every state in the union has thousands of NFA registered items. Even California has nearly 300K, Illinois has over 100K. Obama hasn’t helped anyone. He’s just added to the expense and hassle of obtaining NFA items.

       Gun show loophole? I agree, there never was any such thing. Same laws apply inside the show as outside. What Obama has done is released the hounds on anyone “in the business” of selling firearms. On the surface, that seems to be just enforcing existing law.

       Beneath the surface, he’s directing his agents to pursue anyone he wants. That’s because the underlying law itself is vague. It provides no quantity of guns sold per any time frame. It provides no context other than being in the trade to make a living. Well.

       Who’s to say what constitutes being in the business? Can’t go by set quantities, because they don’t exist in law. Courts have held as few as two can be sufficient. Unfortunately, courts are inconsistent across the country and across circumstances even within the same state.

       Can’t go by profitability, for the same reason. Even if you could, most businesses go through a start-up phase where they are unprofitable. That could reasonably last up to three years. So even if you don’t make money selling guns, you just buy and trade when you’re bored with one, you could be regarded as “in business” without a license. Expect prosecutions.

       Finally, shall not be infringed. Mean anything to you? This president hates America and our freedoms. Nothing he does, especially involving his subjectivity and selective enforcement if laws, is in our favor. It’s a trap.

7. We all need to just shut up. Now we can all agree that the gun show loophole is closed. Gangbangers will no longer be getting there guns there. Obama completely solved the gun violence problem with a single swipe of his pen. / sarc off

   • If we shut up we lose.

     They will come down from their high and see that people are still being killed by guns, even if it’s less than it was before, because that won’t matter. To them they haven’t quite done enough yet, so they need to push for more legislation, more EOs, more rules, etc. If it’s not a “gun-show loophole” then it’s illegal buying and selling online, even though that doesn’t exist, either. If it’s not that then you’ll hear something new eventually.

     They cannot be satisfied: they have unrealistic ideas of Utopianism, and they think they can accomplish them through the government. They may finally be happy once it is impossible by all practical means that a private citizen may legally possess a gun of any kind… maybe.

8. This whole thing is just a calculated PR push. O pretends to do stuff knowing his supporters are ignorant of the issues and won’t know he’s just pretending; the press crows over new gun control knowing again that their readership is ignorant of the issues and can’t be bothered to self-educate; pundits then begin to opine that this means gun control really ISN’T politically toxic, so we can have more. It’s marketing, it’s an attempt to move the Overton window. Obama knows what he’s doing in this regard: this is what a “community organizer” actually does.

9. I like to think about the meeting Obama had with his advisers and the ATF:

   Obama – Ok, what can we do with executive orders?

   Advisers – Um, not much, its a legislative issue. All the laws that can be in place are already in place.

   Obama – Come on, man! I went on record saying I’d do something. I can’t have another “red line” incident this soon. There has to be something!

   Advisers – I suppose we could re-word the existing policies, so they look and sound different. And perhaps lower the number of guns it takes to define a “gun dealer”.

   Obama – Yeah, yeah! Do that, something….anything! Just make it look like I moved the ball. The rest I can blame on Congressional inaction and the NRA.

10. I tried very hard to watch this but only lasted about three minutes. I actually get physically ill watching Obama and when you add prune face Joe in the background I get close to hurling.

    • Listening to it was just as difficult for me.

      The smugness, the condescension, him playing parts of it for *laughs*…

      As time goes on, parts of the real ‘jems’ of this will be revealed, and too late to do anything about it…

      • There was just a touch too much humor to be comfortable in the presence of a bleeding peanut gallery.

11. The one issue here is Social Security turning it’s records over for background checks. The VA did it to the vets, now SS is doing to everyone else.

12. I’m watching CNN right now and he got a standing ovation to the new gun control measures. Because we all know, any gun control measure no mater how ineffective, is good! /sarc

    • “This is how freedom dies, to the sound of thunderous applause.”

13. Wow, yep no bias in the main stream media. Completely objective and neutral. Thank you PuffPo for the direct evidence you are a propaganda operation masquerading as a news outlet. Same to you Washington Post.

14. Desperate propagandists, taking a lot of hot air and trying their best to prostrate themselves before the Emperor to earn his favor.

15. Useful idiots
    SMH

16. Squirrel!

    Liberals are so stupid about guns they think this is a big deal, journalists even more so.

    I keep coming back to my idea that would make liberals screech, and perhaps do something to improve people’s safety: Open up the NICS check to anyone with an EIN. Allow potential employers to do a NICS check on potential employees.

    You’d see liberals howl in outrage – but it would be entirely legal. I’d like to see a NICS check and immigration status check run as part of employment verification, and I’d like to set a requirement to pass a NICS check before people could apply for social welfare benefits (eg, food stamps, housing aid, etc).

    • DG, I want to make receipt of social services (food stamps, housing aid, etc) conditional on clean urine.

      That’ll *never* happen.

17. By far the most important thing to keep in mind: these headlines were written BEFORE the writers heard Obama’s speech.

    The MSM is nothing but propaganda, on this issue and any other.

18. General tenor of MSM headlines: “Obama is god and we want to kiss his royal tuchas.”

19. Panic? We’re mostly shrugging.

20. I wonder if they will still be as glowing after they digest the actual content? I know the NYT is already looking askance at the EO in its online editorial pages.

    • Really? I mean about the NYT–I figured it would take them longer to either (a) figure out that he really didn’t do much of anything to clamp down on gun rights or (b) bring themselves to admit it rather than continuing to cheer his every move. I had the same thought BTW–wonder how long it will take the goo-goos to catch on that pretty much nothing has changed, except it will be easier for some individuals to obtain real machine guns now.

21. Blah blah woof woof>Jimi Hendrix. Very little done to us Illinois residents. More to those little guys selling a few guns in “free-ER” states…

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