“Half a year after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), the Obama administration is set to release a series of reforms to the current gun law, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday.” The Huffington Post may not be rubbing its hands in glee, but they’re not offering any analysis of this move, either. Here’s the short version: Barak Obama has lost his base. Or his mind. Or both . . .

Alienating pro-gun independents in a fruitless effort to end-run Congress on gun control (the edicts will supposedly take the form of executive orders) may please the far left, but it’s nearasdammit political suicide. Wait. Hear that? Cha-ching! That’s the sound of the NRA cash register struggling to process tens of millions of dollars in contributions as its members hit the hustings.

Here’s the official WH announcement:

“The president directed the Attorney General to form working groups with key stakeholders to identify common sense measures that would improve American safety and security while fully respecting Second Amendment rights,” Carney said at Thursday’s briefing. “That process is well underway at the Department of Justice with stakeholders on all sides working through these complex issues and we expect to have more specific announcements in the near future.”

The Department of Justice? Carney’s kidding, right? The same federal agency that stands accused of conducting a major and ongoing cover-up of a gun-related program gone horribly wrong (the ATF’s literally fatal Gunwalker misegos) is going to draft regulations to control firearms sales? That’s insane.

As for “all stakeholders” having their say on these new regs, wrong. The gun rights side of the “debate” didn’t get a look in. The NRA boycotted the White House “gun summit” and Obama officials never responded to TTAG’s request for a seat at the table. (Can you believe it?)

The HuffPo reckons All the President’s Men will nibble away at existing laws rather than jump off the cliff marked “renew the assault weapons ban.”

The end result, one source close to the discussions said, was a package of reforms “not huge in scope.” They are largely expected to mirror the topics covered in the president’s op-ed. Gun control advocates have pushed for more, including legislation that would limit the size of magazines — such as the 32-round clip that Giffords’ shooter used — or a bill that would force private sellers to conduct background checks at gun shows — which may have prevented the Virginia Tech shooter from obtaining his firearms.

Maybe. Actually not. Mr. Cho bought his firearms at a gun dealer. (I guess the HuffPo’s Internet connection was down at the time of writing.)

All this—what this is—will occur “in the near future.” In other words, probably not at all. Any attempt to limit magazine capacity with a federal fiat will enrage, alienate and energize the President’s generally sleepy pro-gun followers. And not in a good way.

If this is a trial balloon, it’s holier than Benedetto XVI.

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41 COMMENTS

  1. From the linked article:

    ” or a bill that would force private sellers to conduct background checks at gun shows — which may have prevented the Virginia Tech shooter from obtaining his firearms.”

    The VT shooter bought his guns at a gun store and passed NICS. Why did they add on this flagrant lie? I think we all know.

    • June 25-26th there was a gun show in Grand Rapids, so I hope to God he didn’t get it via private sale.

      I think they instead could just tell states to put that they are a convicted felon on a drivers license.

      • I’ve always thought that would be a good idea. Just something that says “I am a felon” on their main source of identification. I don’t think that the guy would have gotten one at a gun show, however. His extensive record would suggest that buying a gun from one of his buddies would be a better route (connections). But I could be wrong. It’s all very confusing. In a world where some people are begging to have guns monitored while the government is facilitating the sale of said guns to drug cartels across the border, it’s easy to see that no matter what law is passed, nothing will change. The only solution to “gun violence” that makes sense to me is to allow citizens to have the means to protect themselves from the scum in this world. If that means a Saiga 12 with a 20 round drum loaded with hexolit 32 shells, then so be it.

        • They can do it all without it being ex post facto and instantly, just will cost a bit.

          Send police to felons home with new license, shred the old one.

          I also have to say I haven’t heard of any of the victims being men, so looking at the guys attributes of being 6’2″ 230, he could of easily done this with a knife. I think also people don’t realize, people go crazy with knifes all the time and the thing is, you can’t regulate something sharp, the total government control in the prison system cannot regulate it.

  3. It never ceases to amaze me just how blind the average US gun owner is to the end game of Obama and his kind. They want the total destruction of the second Amendment and private gun ownership period!

    Obama and his kind know full well what the 2nd Amendment is really all about and they fear it and as a result they will do whatever it takes to destroy it.

    Yeah, yeah I know, NRA scare tactics…………… never happen here just like it was never going to happen in New Zealand, Australia the UK, South Africa and on and on…………..

  4. Okay, we all knew this was coming so, to quote my USMC dad, it is time to “improvise, adapt and overcome”.

    It may sound simple but buy all the ammo you can afford; 5,000 rds of every self defense caliber gun that you own. Obtain firearms and training that will allow you to defend yourself at any distance; long range scoped rifles, AR or carbine rifles, tactical style shotguns and handguns.

    In short; prepare, have a plan and be ready to implement your plan.

    • Please don’t instigate another ‘Obama ammo scare.’ It only hurt us the first time around and we’ve just now gotten ammo prices back down to (almost) normal.

      • Amen Brother Chris. The last thing we need is ammo prices to start following the trends of oil prices.

  5. I can’t imagine “the near future” would be before the 2012 election. In any case, as a pro-gun independent, I really wish the Republicans would stop trying to out-crazy each other and come up with a real candidate. *** On a side note: does anyone else find that the reply box on this site tends to limit their typing to about 15 words per minute? This is annoying as hell.

    • WTF does “out-crazy” each other entail exactly? Every candidate the R’s have right now is far better than B.O. & Co. My old computer did the 15 words per minute & yes, it was really annoying.

      • Here’s a semi-random example of the crazy far-right pandering that’s taking place right now: Michelle Bachman Signs Pledge for Ban on Pornography. That type of shit makes a canidate pretty hard to take seriously. I’m not saying this in Obama’s defense, quite the contrary. If the Republicans field a canidate like this, they will loose the independent vote and pretty much guarantee Obama the election.

    • Your connection might be slow. It happens to me but only when I’m on my laptop. Click the ‘enlarge’ button next to the spellcheck button. Clears up the problem for me.

      • Thanks Derek. I know my connection isn’t slow and you’re enlargement trick works great.

      • After some Googling, it appears that the “slow-typing” bug may be the result of a problem with the way Firefox 5.0 and WordPress (the software that runs TTAG) interact.

    • I have that problem, but only with this site. I type my responses in Word and then copy & paste it here.

      Concerning candidates, I’d like someone better in the Republican category than last time.

    • On a side note: does anyone else find that the reply box on this site tends to limit their typing to about 15 words per minute?

      Do what I do: open a text editor, type your reply, then cut-n-paste it in here. Works a treat. =)

    • “On a side note: does anyone else find that the reply box on this site tends to limit their typing to about 15 words per minute? This is annoying as hell.”

      Oh man, I thought this was just me. PLEASE fix this!

      • I’ve set my web guys on it. STAT. What browser, OS, etc?

        Sorry for the inconvenience!

        • Firefox has the slow typing problem.

          Opera, oddly enough, does not.

          I avoid IE, so, I can’t tell you if it works or not.

          • From what I have I can say, that neither IE, neither FF has this problem on constant basis. Yesterday evening I had this problem, but now everything is Ok.

  6. I predict whatever is proposed will never pass Congress. The House was pro-gun before the last election. Even more so now since pro-gun Democrats were replaced by even more pro-gun Republicans. Any legislation likely to pass will be pro-gun ESPECIALLY if its tied to raising the debt ceiling again. I’m only surprised the Thune amendment wasn’t attached this last time around.

    And who cares if there is an ammo/firearm scare. It just becomes an opportunity like the last time. I sold several semi-autos that became scarce at the high end of the panic. Re-bought them new when the dust settled. Buy up a few cases of ammo (or high capacity magazines) now if that’s your concern, then sell them off if the general public goes full retard.

    Even in the remove chance that Giffords is used for the sympathy vote and something does passes, I doubt the courts will let it stand. Heck, in today’s legal world, it wouldn’t surprise me if an injunction wasn’t granted until it moves up the SCOTUS.

  7. I wish that President Obama had the magic signing statement power to mandate that persons 18 years old and up purchase a firearm and become proficient with it. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was pleasant to each other and had mandated health care. Darn near utopia as I care to figure.

  8. A background check or other reasonable measures should be the main requirement for those who try to purchase a gun. Nowadays, practically anyone is able to buy one. I believe there should be some list of people with criminal records to whom it would be illegal to sell any gun.

  9. I was going to buy a new Kimber next week, but now I’m going to send the NRA a big fat donation and I’ll still buy the Kimber.

  10. “The NRA boycotted the White House “gun summit’.”

    Why? I don’t care how much they hate Obama; it’s their JOB to be there. Donate if you want to pay a lobbying group to do nothing. This is why I quit that organization.

    • The NRA did not want to give legitimacy to a White House conference that is known to be Anti-Gun. Basically, the NRA rejected the premise of the gun summit.

      Had the NRA shown up to the summit, no matter what objections the NRA put forth, the White House would have been able to say “Hey, look, the NRA was there and involved in the discussions and a consensus was reached for common sense gun restrictions.”

      Never mind that the NRA would have protested such an intrepretation. The invitation to the so-called “summit” was a political trap. The only way to avoid the trap is to stay away.

  11. working through these complex issues and we expect to have more specific announcements in the near future.”

    Allow me to translate:

    “Complex issues” = We have no idea of what to do.

    “we expect to have more specific announcements in the near future” = You won’t hear from us until after the 2012 election.

  12. Oh, well, here we go again. Chris Dumm was right, this announcement is going to set off another wave of panic-buying. Especially if Obama ignores Congress and does it by executive fiat (like his drilling moratorium). I guess the time to buy ammo is RIGHT NOW, before the ripple effect sets in and the sheeple start to panic. A few weeks ago I bought four boxes of .223’s for my mini-14, and my boyfriend thought I was crazy. “Why do you need all that? You already have 500 rounds.” And I solemnly replied, “You can never have too much ammo.”

  13. Ha! IS this suppose to be a surprise! First the government even has the pro-gun people convinced that the gun laws are weak from all the straw purchases of firearms that crossed into the Mexico boarder, since 2009! Only to find out that it was our own government that was allowing it and using our tax dollars to do it! Then on top of it all we, US Government, are about to default on our debit. So we have to cut, cut, cut, of course let’s cut social security, med a care, defense budget and social services all the budgetary items that help the the citizens that need it the most! Then the Obama administration comes out with letting the wolf watch the lambs! Yea right ATF knows what to do for gun control! NO NO NO! We have plenty of gun laws already, enough already! Let’s re-focus on criminal laws! Those criminals that use a firearm in a crime go away for life, period! No insanity plea’s, no time off for good behavior, no appeal, just life in prison! I say we need to let the the “Fast and Furious” investigation follow its course to the logical end, the Obama administration! Then we need to follow what other nations are doing “Obama MUST GO”!!! Enough with the gun laws criminals are not going to follow laws, they buy their firearms off the street or though straw purchases that the ATF allow “to the follow the gun” right, just like those thouands of guns in Mexico! I am surprised that Obama did this in the face the “Fast and Furious” investigation going on and with the reports from FOX News that Mr. Big in Mexico is actually on the US payroll, as a informer, more tax dollars! It is time to clean house “Obama MUST GO!”

    Mike –

  14. The First 10 Amendments to the Constitution as Ratified by the States December 15, 1791
    PREAMBLE Congress OF THE United States.
    “THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution…”

    Amendment II “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

    Words of common knowledge and wisdom from the Founders of the American Constitutional Republic…‘a well regulated militia being necessary to the security or a free state’?
    Free from what?
    A declaration of a preexisting right of the people to keep and bear arms?
    A further restrictive clause in order to prevent misconstruction and abuse of powers afforded to the newly-formed federal government?
    A law written against the federal government specifying said right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed?
    A law written against the Federal government? To limit powers?
    What in the world were these madmen thinking?
    Everyone knows government is all powerful and doesn’t have to abide by any laws.
    Government makes the laws that everyone else has to abide by.
    And besides, everybody knows that it’s government that grants rights, and all rights are subject to reasonable restrictions.

    http://patriotpost.us/document/bill-of-rights-preamble/

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