Obama slams NRA, refuses support for anti-gun control Democrats

Speaking at a CNN town hall on gun violence in America, Obama says he can understand why an Iowan living in a rural area would want to own a gun for protection, while gun ownership in Chicago can be more risky. Though Obama has made clear he will continue advocating for gun control throughout the remainder of his second term, the president admitted defeat saying it’s clear gun reform will not happen in this Congress or his presidency.

The NRA was invited to take part in the town hall. He tried to reassure Americans there is a middle ground on a fiercely divisive issue. Are you suggesting… we are creating a plot to take everyone’s guns away so we can impose martial law? In his final year of office, he’s come out in front on gun violence, experimenting with the right message and providing his fellow Democrats with some political cover by taking the flak for it. He offered a roadmap on Thursday to the two Democratic presidential frontrunners-and candidates down-ballot as well-on how to campaign for gun reform.

Obama is making the demand in an op-ed published Thursday on The New York Times’ website.

He blamed the idea on the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun groups which he claimed convince their members “somebody’s going to come grab your guns”.

“Maybe when I propose to make sure that unsafe drugs are taken off the market, that secretly I’m trying to control the entire drug industry – or take people’s drugs away”, Obama said.

“There is a reason why the NRA is not here”, Obama said. “They’re just down the street”.

People who strongly favour the changes outnumber those who oppose them by a 2 to 1 margin: 43 percent are strongly in favour while 21 percent are strongly opposed, CNN said.

“Since this is a main reason they exist, you’d think that they’d be prepared to have a debate with the president”.

The White House has sought to portray the NRA, the nation’s largest gun group, as holding undue sway over lawmakers that has prevented new gun laws despite polls that show broad support for plans like universal background checks.

Mr. Obama noted that gun sales in the USA typically spike whenever he introduces a new rule regarding guns, or whenever there’s a mass shooting.

It began with Tuesday’s press conference during which Obama announced he would use his executive actions to circumvent Congress and close certain loopholes that allow easy access to guns. But 57 percent of those polled also said that the measures would not be effective in reducing the number of people killed by guns.