Obama mocks ‘conspiracy’ at forum on gun control

Look, let’s acknowledge that liberals have not handled gun issues well over the years. Anderson Cooper hosts the 8 p.m. ET special from George Mason University in Virginia. “Because once Congress gets on board with common-sense gun safety measures, we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more”. As Mexico’s war on organized crime ramped up a decade ago, so too did legal military imports of weapons and ammunition from at least 50 countries, with the USA topping the list.

Mark Kelly, the astronaut and husband of former Arizona congresswoman and shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords, told Obama the two gun control advocates have encountered fears that expanding background checks “will lead to a (gun) registry, which will lead to confiscation, which will lead to a tyrannical government”.

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA The NRA posted an online petition that argues that Obama is trying to “further erode our Second Amendment rights”. “People who purchase guns from those sellers are not subject to criminal background checks”.

Obama praised the activist priest for his “heroic work at St. Sabina Parish” in Chicago, but said there was no “national consensus” for licensing or registration of guns, in part because of “people’s concern that that becomes a prelude to taking people’s guns away”.

When it comes to finding common ground between gun owners and the president’s executive actions, Beaver says he hopes we can come to an understanding that there needs to be more done to ensure rights are not infringed, but safety is considered.

That is likely to be the centerpiece of his message at Thursday’s forum, where White House officials said Obama is eager to try to debunk the arguments of those who say new gun laws are not necessary.

Finally, while the mass shootings such as Sandy Hook are horrific, where is the president’s passion about dealing with terrorist shootings?

Even as I continue to take every action possible as president, I will also take every action I can as a citizen.

A series of mass shootings has punctuated Obama’s time in office, and after he failed to convince Congress to toughen up gun laws, the president said he wanted to have a national debate about guns in his final year in office.

Obama said his team had invited the NRA to take part in the debate but that they had declined the offer. “And, since this is the main reason they exist, you’d think they’d be prepared to have a debate with … a president”.

There’s no magic wand to solve gun violence in America, but neither is it immutable fate that 32,000 Americans die from firearms each year.

Mr Obama said: ” Yes, that is a conspiracy. “What are you saying?” Are you suggesting that the notion that we are creating a plot to take everybody’s guns away so that we can impose Marshall Law is a conspiracy, it is a conspiracy. Yes, that is a conspiracy. But perhaps the President woke up this morning and read about all the critiques of his claim, like you and I did, and now he’s better educated on the matter. “Is that controversial, except on some websites around the country?” When Jacob asked Obama why he was focusing on preventing criminals from purchasing weapons instead of supporting law enforcement efforts to keep them off the streets in the first place, the president blamed Congress for shrinking the budget of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “When would I have started on this enterprise?”

The president fielded a question from Kimberly Corban, who was raped while she was in college and believes his executive actions would make it harder for her to protect herself and kids.