Obama takes gun control push to murder-plagued Chicago

Returning to his hometown of Chicago, President Obama touched on issues he address during his State of the Union: Increasing gun violence, Strengthening gun laws, and improving the economy. Watch the entire speech.

 

President Barack Obama took his push for stricter gun laws to his adoptive hometown of Chicago, as that city endures an epidemic of high-profile shooting deaths.

Speaking near his family home on the south side of Chicago, the president renewed his call for Congress to allow for a vote on his various gun measures. And Obama pointed to recent incidences of violence, including the murder of Hadiya Pendleton, the Chicago teenager who was gunned down shortly after performing with classmates in Obama’s second inaugural parade.

“This week, in my State of the Union, I talked about Hadiya and the fact that, unfortunately, what happened to Hadiya is not unique,” Obama said, noting that Pendelton’s parents were in attendance at his speech. “It's not unique to Chicago."


The president’s adoptive hometown, though, has suffered from an epidemic of gun violence. The city suffered over 500 homicides in 2012, including a record number of gun deaths for victims under the age of 18.

“That's the equivalent of a Newtown every four months,” Obama said, referencing the deadly shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut in December, which left 26 students and teachers dead, and provided the impetus for the administration’s new push for comprehensive legislation to curb gun violence.

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Conservatives, though, have also helped popularize Chicago as a prime example as to why the president’s gun proposals are ineffective.

"When President Obama visits Friday, let’s hope we hear something more thoughtful than the usual rhetoric about expanding background checks, to which gangs never submit, and banning some weapons which they rarely use," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., wrote Thursday in the Chicago Tribune.

“Honesty about what it will really take to face gang violence is the best tribute he can offer to Hadiya Pendleton and the dozens of other children killed in Chicago each year,” Gingrich added in his op-ed, referring to the Pendleton’s parents attended Friday’s speech at Hyde Park Academy.

Obama used his speech at the academy to also talk up elements of his education reforms proposed in the State of the Union address earlier this week, including expanded access to Pre-K education and better federal support for schools and standards. The president also talked up his proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.00/hour, though such a proposal has already encountered resistance from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

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Perhaps the U.S. should pull out of Chicago?

Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in the entire US! Body count: In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago, while 221 soldiers were killed in Iraq.

Chicago is a community organized gangland combat zone.

President: Barack Hussein Obama (Democrat)

Senator: Dick Durbin (Democrat)

House Representative: Jesse Jackson Jr. (Democrat)

Governor: Pat Quinn (Democrat)

House leader: Mike Madigan (Democrat)

Atty. Gen: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike) (Democrat)

Mayor: Rahm Emanuel (Democrat)

The leadership in Illinois are All Democrats. Chicago school system - rated one of the worst in the country. Can't blame Republicans, there aren't any!

State pension fund $78 Billion in debt, worst in country. Can't blame Republicans. there aren't any!

Cook County (Chicago ) sales tax 10.25% highest in country. Can't blame Republicans, there aren't any!

Of course, they're all blaming each other. Can't blame Republicans there aren't any!

(D) George Ryan is no longer Governor, he is in prison.

Of course he was replaced by (D) Rob Blajegovitch who is...that's right, also in prison.

Representative (D) Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned a couple of weeks ago. That is because he is fighting being sent to...that's right, prison.

The Land of Lincoln, where their Governors make their license plates. This is the Illinois political culture that Obama comes from and he is going to 'fix' Washington politics for us???

Maybe Obama can go back and do some more community organizing. It really worked out well for Chicago the last time!

  • 9 votes
Reply#103 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:42 AM EST

It's stunning how brief nbcnews.com had the story of Jesse Jackson Jr stealing $750,000.

  • 6 votes
#103.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:53 PM EST

Don't forget Jessie Jr.'s wife....I think she is going to prison too....Chicago has a gang problem...why don't they do something about them....Obama makes a speech in Gangland "Chicago" and then goes to Florida to golf...he's hired a pro to give him golf lessons at $1000.00 hr....wonder if the taxpayers are going to foot the bill....he is a loser....period..

  • 2 votes
#103.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:57 PM EST

I thought that this post is about gun control. Oh well. Guess we need more GOOD leaders like Nixon, Thurmond.......on and on.

    #103.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:44 PM EST
    Reply

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    • 5 votes
    Reply#104 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:45 AM EST

    MAN,,,,, I hope many more companies do the same thing. Choke NY off. I did talk to someone that lives in upstate NY. He told me that NY city is the reason for the new laws. He said that out state is mad as hell but cannot do anything because of the population of NY city. He blamed Bloomberg and the "not very smart" people that follow him.

    • 2 votes
    #104.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:15 PM EST
    Reply

    What are the numbers of gun related deaths if Black on Black crime were removed from the equation? How much revenue could be reallocated if Black on Black crime didn't result in incarceration? This is not meant to be racist, but a legitimate question. Are the guns really the problem or is it maybe a lack of morality that permeates a given culture?

    • 6 votes
    Reply#105 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:45 AM EST

    So the Jackass who put Fast and Furious into play is now lecturing legal gun owners about Chicago thugs killing one another with illegally acquired guns.

    Hard to believe this moron got another 4 years of vacations and golf on our dime.

    • 9 votes
    Reply#106 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:46 AM EST

    Fast and furious began in 2006 ....... Bush was your jackass.

      #106.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:21 PM EST

      @don

      Bush ran Operation Wide Receiver, not F&F. Do your homework.

      Bush was a disaster. Obama is worse.

      • 5 votes
      #106.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:51 PM EST
      Reply

      In America where all men are created equal, our president surrounds himself with men carrying assault rifles while he tells the citizens that we cannot have semi-automatic rifles.

      Our president clearly holds himself to be more equal than the citizens.

      • 10 votes
      Reply#107 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:51 AM EST

      At one time leaders led by example, not anymore. There was also a time when leaders that started wars were leading the charge, not anymore. They are mostly a bunch of chicken S that have little in common with those that do their beckon for them. I for life of me can't understand why anyone would ever go fight a war for these little men that sit behind desks and make life and death decisions for them.

      All we have now are hypocrites.

      • 5 votes
      #107.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:04 PM EST

      Now they lead from behind.

      • 2 votes
      #107.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:11 PM EST

      Obama can't do anything because he is the POTUS....he's not a Emperor... his words..not mine...he said his job is to execute the laws...so why is he not doing his damn job...

      • 2 votes
      #107.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 3:01 PM EST

      because he is an ass...

        #107.4 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:18 PM EST

        dixie girl/mcpaddy

        Both of you should have paid attention several weeks ago when President Obama announced his list of Executive Orders ...... you know the ones that the NRA morons like LaPierre wrongly claimed were "Unconstitutional". Most of those executive orders involved clearing the impediments to enforcing existing gun laws ..... the impediments that have been pushed by the NRA like the blocked confirmation of the head of the ATF.

          #107.5 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:34 PM EST
          Reply

          Assault weapons were regulated in 1934 and were banned in 1986.

          We're happy to have the gun control debate. But, it's impossible to have an honest debate with a gun grabber liar.

          • 4 votes
          Reply#108 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:55 AM EST

          So Rahm's not doing so well, eh?

          • 7 votes
          Reply#109 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:00 PM EST

          The gang bangers are laughing their butts off! Like they will EVER be without the very weapons that Obama is trying to snowball the country about.

          Ya, they are all going to run down to the local gun control office and register their assault weapons because Obama asked them to.

          Obama has a lot of more important issues to deal with, like our national debt, instead of grand standing and pushing his socialist police state agenda.

          • 5 votes
          Reply#110 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:01 PM EST

          Steven, right. Obama just doesn't get it.

          Sad.

          • 2 votes
          #110.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:06 PM EST
          Reply

          Seeking - WOW.

          Honest to goodness question for you. Honest...

          Do you ever get tired of being on here hour in hour out, day in day out, calling people names? Be honest. Is it a personal quest for you or something? Trying to figure out the necessity to be like that in a fantasy world that is this board.

          Every time you call someone (you don't even know) an idiot, stupid, classless, clueless, ignorant, etc. I'd really take a step back and look in the mirror and ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish here.

          • 1 vote
          Reply#111 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:03 PM EST

          Wow...who'd a thunk it was that easy to solve the murder problem in Chicago...Obama speechifies and no more murders...Obama should have made that speech years ago...he could have save maybe 2,500 to 3,000 lives...but I guess Obama was busy solving the global warming problem flying around in space rearranging the planets and moons to balance the universe...

          • 4 votes
          Reply#112 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:14 PM EST

          Throughout history, citizen disarmament generally leads to one of two inevitable outcomes: Government tyranny and genocide, or, revolution and civil war. Anti-gun statists would, of course, argue that countries like the UK and Australia have not suffered such a result. My response would be – just give them time. You may believe that gun control efforts are part and parcel of a totalitarian agenda (as they usually are), or, you may believe that gun registration and confiscation are a natural extension of the government’s concern for our “safety and well-being”. Either way, the temptation of power that comes after a populace is made defenseless is almost always too great for any political entity to dismiss. One way or another, for one reason or another, they WILL take advantage of the fact that the people have no leverage to determine their own cultural future beyond a twisted system of law and governance which is, in the end, easily corrupted.

          The unawake and the unaware among us will also argue that revolution or extreme dissent against the establishment is not practical or necessary, because the government “is made of regular people like us, who can be elected or removed at any time”.

          This is the way a Republic is supposed to function, yes. However, the system we have today has strayed far from the methods of a Free Republic and towards the machinations of a single party system. Our government does NOT represent the common American anymore. It has become a centralized and Sovietized monstrosity. A seething hydra with two poisonous heads; one Democrat in name, one Republican in name. Both heads feed the same bottomless stomach; the predatory and cannibalistic pit of socialized oligarchy.

          On the Republican side, we are offered Neo-Con sharks like George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, who argue for “conservative” policies such as limited government interference and reduced spending, all while introducing legislation which does the exact opposite. The recent passage of the “Safe Act” in New York with extensive Republican support proves that Republicans cannot be counted on to defend true conservative values.

          The Democrats get candidates like John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, who claim to be anti-war and against government abuse of civil liberties, and yet, these same “progressive and compassionate” politicians now froth at the mouth like rabid dogs sinking their teeth into the flesh of the citizenry, expanding on every tyrannical initiative the Republicans began, and are bombing more civilian targets in more foreign countries than anyone with a conscience should be able to bear.

          I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the government is not our buddy. It is not our ally or friend. It is not a “part of us”. It is now a separate and dangerous entity. A parasite feeding off the masses. It has become a clear threat to the freedoms of average Americans. It is time for the public to grow up, snap out of its childish delusions, and accept that there is no solace or justice to be found anymore in Washington D.C.

          Once we understand this fact, a question then arises – What do we do about it? If we cannot redress our grievances through the election process because both parties favor the same authoritarian direction, and if our street protests are utterly ignored by the mainstream media and the establishment, and if civil suits do nothing but drag on for years with little to no benefit, then what is left for us? Is the way of the gun the only answer left for the American people at this crossroads?

          I cannot deny that we are very close to such a conclusion. Anyone who does deny it is living in a candy coated fantasy land. However, there are still certain options that have not been exhausted, and we should utilize them if for no other reason than to maintain the moral high ground while the power elite continue to expose their own despotic innards.

          http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-16/guest-post-gun-rights-are-there-any-peaceful-solutions-left

          • 5 votes
          Reply#113 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:46 PM EST

          100% of all murders committed in Chicago were in areas controlled by Democrats. The people of Chicago have voted for violence and murder for 75 years. Why is Obama trying to stop it. The people have said we want our gangs to kill. We will not elect a law and order Republican. We accept the corruption of the Democrats, like the Jacksons, and the murders of our children. We love the violence, the hate, the corruption, the incompetence, the ignorance that the Democrat Party has fostered for 75 years. Long live Obama and the Chicago Way! Forget the kids.

          • 6 votes
          Reply#114 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:02 PM EST

          "We love our free sh!t"

          • 5 votes
          #114.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:15 PM EST
          Reply

          Seems more fruitful to go after the causes of the violence rather than the tools.

          • 3 votes
          Reply#115 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:24 PM EST

          I think the family of Oscar Pistorius's girlfriend would have simply preferred that Oscar did not have such easy access to guns instead of figuring out what was going on inside his head. Comprendez?

            #115.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:42 PM EST

            Better take away his kitchen knives as well, salsa.

            • 2 votes
            #115.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:01 PM EST

            Didn't realize a kitchen knife could penetrate a bathroom door like a bullet?

              #115.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:31 PM EST
              Reply

              Obama returns to the scene of the crime. This is how the great 'community organizer' succeeded in his most celebrated accomplishment? He obviously organized nothing in Chicago. He is on the road to doing to America what he did in Chicago-nothing positive. When he couldn't improve the plight of his people in the windy city, he packed his bags, moved out, and decided to try it again on all of us. How much bull-s**t can the American people swallow before it dawns on them that Barack Obama is a loudmouthed fraud-or worse.

              You have to admire his chutzpa, speechifying and pontificating in the very place where he failed miserably.

              • 4 votes
              Reply#116 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:26 PM EST

              Still shouting at empty chairs? LMFAO!!!!!!

                #116.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:38 PM EST
                Reply

                I own assault weapons!! Why you ask?

                1. It is my 2nd amendment right!!

                2. the bad guys have them.

                3. to protect myself from the bad guys and all the libby gun haters!

                4. libs hate them.

                5. libs hate them.

                To all the gun haters who think the 2nd amendment is for hunters!! Bunch of fricking idiots!!

                • 3 votes
                Reply#117 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:28 PM EST

                To all the gun nuts who think they need the 2nd Amendment to protect themselves from their government, you're as dumb as a bag of rocks.

                  #117.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:35 PM EST

                  Actually, to protect myself from people like you also!,

                  But since you're unarmed! it shouldn't be to hard, LOL!!

                  • 2 votes
                  #117.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:42 PM EST

                  Yes. Dumb as a bag of rocks.

                    #117.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:51 PM EST

                    Salsa you will also be the first to experience the execution. When you have such blind belief in government.

                      #117.4 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:16 PM EST

                      Paranoid AND dumb as a bag of rocks. Just an observation.

                        #117.5 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:32 PM EST

                        @salsaforever. You just keep eating that salsa, because it just shows how whacked your brain has become. You can't even get your saying correct. It is "Dumb as a Box of Rocks" you idiot. Not a bag of rocks.

                          #117.6 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 8:28 PM EST
                          Reply

                          Michele Obama's other half-

                          Half black

                          Half witted

                          Half assed

                          Half-way to destroying America.

                          • 3 votes
                          Reply#118 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:34 PM EST

                          Anne Romney's other half...............Obama kicked his ass. True story.

                            #118.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:37 PM EST

                            Not exactly salsa. And unfortunately, this ain't a basketball game we're talking about. Waaaaay too many Obama supporters seem to think it is.

                            • 2 votes
                            #118.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:43 PM EST

                            Salsa:

                            Idiots like you kicked Romney's ass. You are the one who bought into Obama's dirty politics of personal destruction. You are the true enemy of America. Now go cash your government check or call your dealer on your Obamaphone.

                            • 3 votes
                            #118.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:43 PM EST

                            Obama's strategy....divide and conquer.....True Story.

                            • 3 votes
                            #118.4 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:46 PM EST

                            The fact that we haven't heard a PEEP out of Romney supports the conclusion that Obama KICKED HIS ASS. True story.

                              #118.5 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:58 PM EST

                              What's that got to do with guns?

                              • 1 vote
                              #118.6 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:03 PM EST

                              No, it supports the conclusion that he's an adult and has a life. Again, this is not a basketball game.

                              • 1 vote
                              #118.7 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:03 PM EST

                              LOL

                                #118.8 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:03 PM EST

                                obama is an ass and a traitor.....

                                  #118.9 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:18 PM EST

                                  Only a bonehead who fails to understand the definition of "traitor" would believe that.

                                    #118.10 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:35 PM EST
                                    Reply

                                    Who in Chicago is committing the murders? Arrest them, or, arrest everybody that had nothing to do with murdering people, take the would be victims off the street. Pass laws that will make anybody that owns a gun a criminal, then arrest the ones that don't shoot at you. (Two kinds of people you should never argue with, those that are right, and those that are wrong).

                                      Reply#119 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:38 PM EST

                                      Obama's nothing but a traitor!

                                      1. ignore the economy

                                      2. open up the borders and give free ride to "ILLEGALS"

                                      3. take away the right to defend yourself.

                                      If you can't see what the future may hold, you get what you deserve.

                                      The libby lefts are just to lazy to stand up and fight for themselves. They can't be bothered to lift their heads out of their utopian worlds. Turning this country into a bunch of pussies!! Please pull your heads out of Obama's ass!

                                      • 3 votes
                                      Reply#120 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:40 PM EST

                                      If Obama is such a traitor, why aren't republicans making the case for that argument? Perhaps you are simply blowing smoke out your ass?

                                        #120.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:54 PM EST

                                        mark, you've got that right.

                                        • 1 vote
                                        #120.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:04 PM EST

                                        Salsa:

                                        Your posts betray your obvious lack of education, logic, reason and your pathetic dependency on others for your basic needs. If you watched Fox News instead of MSDEMBC, you might learn something. Republicans make that argument all the time. It's just that the Liberal media won't cover them. You are being brainwashed by leftist morons. Wait a minute-that would require a brain.

                                        NEVER MIND.

                                        • 1 vote
                                        #120.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:05 PM EST

                                        logico,

                                        I'm not much concerned about the conservative ass clown pundits calling Obama a traitor. If conservatives had any balls then the ELECTED representatives need to make the case. Comprendez?

                                          #120.4 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:27 PM EST

                                          impeach the ass obama......many grounds to choose from...

                                            #120.5 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:19 PM EST

                                            What a boneheaded statement, mcpatty

                                              #120.6 - Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:36 PM EST
                                              Reply

                                              The 'gun nuts', as you call them, are the criminals who get their guns illegally and use them to commit crimes.

                                              And then there are the lunatics who use guns to commit heinous acts. Political correctness prevents authorities from placing them in institutions before they commit crimes. Law enforcement is far to reactive, and not preventive enough in these situations. Timothy McVey didn't need a gun do blow up a building. Lunatics have multiple means to commit atrocities. What do you do about that?

                                              • 3 votes
                                              Reply#121 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:42 PM EST

                                              You limit their options with universal background checks and caps on magazine capacity. Next stupid question?

                                              • 1 vote
                                              #121.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:44 PM EST

                                              Salsa whats the dif between a 30 round mag for an Ar-15 and three10 round mags taped together? Maybe 2 seconds to flip the stack over and shove it back in the receiver?

                                              • 1 vote
                                              #121.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:49 PM EST

                                              2 Fewer lives taken. Next stupid question?

                                                #121.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:52 PM EST

                                                salsa..

                                                think you better get back on the porch..now you are getting your a$$ kicked. Next stupid statement?

                                                • 1 vote
                                                #121.4 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:59 PM EST

                                                Nope, having too much fun shooting ignorant fish in a barrel.

                                                  #121.5 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:01 PM EST

                                                  If you hear gun shots your first reaction is going to be counting the number of shots fired?

                                                  Then your going to assume he only he has ten round magazines and when the tenth shot is fired your going to be ready to react in the two seconds it would take the shooter to change out a mag?

                                                  • 1 vote
                                                  #121.6 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:02 PM EST

                                                  salsa

                                                  Shooting would require a gun....I'm confused.

                                                  • 1 vote
                                                  #121.7 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:06 PM EST

                                                  David, I have noticed steady deterioration in your posts. Have there been some adverse life events you have been dealing with? Perhaps we should take some time to get a better understanding of your mental health. After all, conservatives have become so "touchy feel" about mental health when faced with meaningful gun control measures.

                                                    #121.8 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:08 PM EST
                                                    Reply

                                                    The Ghetto Goons in Chicago rarely use assault rifles and never buy guns legally so Obama is going in the wrong direction. I guess when Obama was a community organizer there he didn't do a very good job.

                                                    • 3 votes
                                                    Reply#122 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:01 PM EST

                                                    92% of Americans are behind Obama on universal background checks. You weren't very good at REMEDIAL math were you?

                                                      #122.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:04 PM EST

                                                      The guys doing most of the killings do not buy guns legally. Is that so hard to understand?

                                                      • 2 votes
                                                      #122.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:08 PM EST

                                                      They already do background checks when you purchase a firearm...legally that is. Not very good at FACTS are you?

                                                      • 1 vote
                                                      #122.3 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:10 PM EST

                                                      Salsa-You obviously meant '92% of American idiots', are behind Obama. That would be a true statement.

                                                      • 1 vote
                                                      #122.4 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:11 PM EST

                                                      No background checks at private gun shows hence the "gunshow loophole." Yes they are dumb as a bag of rocks.

                                                        #122.5 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:12 PM EST

                                                        Logico has upped the number of idiots from 47% to 92%? You can't make this stuff up. Yes dumb as a bag of rocks.

                                                          #122.6 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:14 PM EST

                                                          We can argue the points until the cows come home but the fact is you're not getting my guns.
                                                          Have a nice day.

                                                            #122.7 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:18 PM EST

                                                            92% of Americans are behind Obama on universal background checks. You weren't very good at REMEDIAL math were you?

                                                            So the other 8% emptied the gun stores in the entire United States of weapons and ammunition?

                                                              #122.8 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:19 PM EST

                                                              greatminds

                                                              Your mind is not so great. No one is trying to take your guns.

                                                              Can you pass a background check? Why would you want people who can't pass the background check to own guns?

                                                              Those who oppose background checks make it easier for the wrong people to have guns.

                                                              • Help a criminal .... fight background checks.
                                                                #122.9 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:21 PM EST
                                                                Reply

                                                                All of you saying we need more gun controls laws, how exactly will they work when it’s the system itself that doesn’t work because the current gun laws we have aren't being enforced?

                                                                Maybe you should be focused on fixing the system, and not trying to add more laws to a system that already isn’t working or you can expect the same result from that system, failure.

                                                                "Insanity; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

                                                                The Government Accountability Office attributes the failures of the NICS system to the States not reporting people deemed mentally unstable, convicted Felons, Domestic abuse, drug convictions etc so its going to work so much better how?

                                                                Jerry Lee Loughner (Gabby Giffords shooting), Seung-Hui Cho (Virgina Tech Massacre), James Holmes (Colorado), were all a danger to others but were never reported to the NICS system by the States.

                                                                If your looking to place blame, then maybe you should be blaming the States and Institutions, that failed to report the Murderers listed above to the NICS system.

                                                                Seung-Hui Cho

                                                                http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/us/gaps-in-fbi-data-undercut-background-checks-for-guns.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

                                                                Gaps in F.B.I. Data Undercut Background Checks for Guns

                                                                While some states, including New York, have submitted more than 100,000 names of mentally ill people to the F.B.I. database, 19 — including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maryland and Maine — have submitted fewer than 100 records and Rhode Island has submitted none, according to federal data compiled by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. That suggests that millions of names are missing from the federal database, gun control advocates and law enforcement officials say.

                                                                While the database flaws do not appear to have been a factor in the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, they have been linked to other attacks, including the Virginia Tech mass murder in 2007. In that case, a Virginia state judge had declared the gunman mentally ill, but the record of that proceeding was not submitted to the F.B.I. He was able to pass a background check and buy the weapons he used to kill 32 people and wound 17 others.

                                                                A July report by the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan Congressional watchdog, found that the total number of mental health records submitted by states to the background check system increased to 1.2 million from about 126,000 between 2004 and 2011, but that the increase largely reflected the efforts of just 12 states. And, it found, 30 states were not making noncriminal records — like positive drug test results for people on probation — available to the system.

                                                                Jerry Lee Laughner

                                                                http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41131860/ns/politics-more_politics/

                                                                As the profile of Jared Lee Loughner continues to emerge, evidence is mounting that his deeply troubled mind was the prime cause of his rampage. His bizarre behavior led to his expulsion from community college and his rejection from the Army. But despite glaring signs of mental instability, Loughner was still able to legally purchase a Glock semiautomatic pistol.

                                                                How?

                                                                The first crack Loughner fell through was in the mental health system. Federal law prohibits the purchase of guns by anyone “adjudicated as a mental defective.” But Loughner was never declared mentally ill by a court of law. As an adult, Loughner would have had to seek treatment on his own accord, but no one, including his parents, seems to have encouraged him to do so.

                                                                James Holmes

                                                                http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014183224

                                                                Psychiatrist Called Threat Team About Aurora Shooting Suspect James Holmes

                                                                Aurora, Colo., shooting suspect James Holmes came to the attention of the threat assessment committee at the University of Colorado but no further action was taken because he left the school more than a month before the attack that killed 12 and injured 58, sources told ABC News.

                                                                ABC News has learned that Dr. Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist who was treating Holmes, 24, at the school, was also a key member of the university's threat assessment team. The group of experts were responsible for protecting the school from potentially violent students.

                                                                KMGH-TV, ABC News' affiliate in Denver, reported exclusively that, according to sources, by early June, Fenton had informed other members of the team about her concerns regarding Holmes.

                                                                But on June 10 -- three days after Holmes bought an assault weapon and added it to his already growing arsenal -- he suddenly told the university that he was dropping out of the neurosciences doctoral program with no explanation.

                                                                http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/2013/01/27/massachusetts-among-worst-sharing-mental-health-data-for-gun-background-checks/COmpdk3YbrLmj0i9vkTnIJ/story.html

                                                                WASHINGTON — Despite its reputation as a state with strong gun-control laws, Massachusetts for more than a decade has not provided mental health records to an FBI database for gun background checks, the result of a 43-year-old state law prohibiting such sharing.

                                                                Massachusetts has submitted just one mental health record to the federal database since 1999 — apparently as a test — at the same time that the FBI has processed 1.6 million background checks of Bay State residents who seek to buy guns from federally licensed dealers. The situation has sparked concerns that firearms could fall into the hands of the mentally ill.

                                                                http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/29/gun-debate-lawmakers-eye-troubled-background-check-system/

                                                                The Gun Debate: Lawmakers eye troubled background check system

                                                                Individuals who want to buy a gun are required to fill out form 4473 -- which is effectively an application to the federal government to buy a weapon. After taking five minutes to complete, the form is sent electronically to the NICS database in Clarksburg, W.Va. By law, buyers whose names show up on the FBI database can't buy a gun and their application is rejected. They include:

                                                                • Felons
                                                                • Fugitives from justice
                                                                • Anyone who unlawfully uses any illegal drug, including marijuana
                                                                • The mentally ill (as determined by a court) or someone who has been committed to a mental institution
                                                                • Illegal aliens
                                                                • Those dishonorably discharged
                                                                • Anyone who renounced U.S. citizenship
                                                                • Those under a restraining order for harassment, stalking or threatening a partner
                                                                • Those convicted of domestic violence, including misdemeanors

                                                                But audits have confirmed the execution of this system is spotty. The two areas most lacking in terms of NICS record-keeping are drug use and mental illness, despite an emphasis after a student treated for mental illness killed 32 students at Virginia Tech in 2007.

                                                                A 2012 Government Accountability Office review noted that the government set out to provide "incentives for states to make more records available for use during firearm related background checks" in the wake of that tragedy.

                                                                The 55-page report went on to blast the states and federal government for failing to meet congressional expectations.

                                                                It found, out of 1.1 million mental health records submitted from 2004 to 2011:

                                                                • 23 states and the District of Columbia had submitted fewer than 100 mental health records to the federal database.
                                                                • 17 states had submitted fewer than 10 mental health records.
                                                                • Four states had not submitted any.

                                                                Currently, gun purchases are prohibited for anyone found not guilty by reason of insanity, involuntarily committed to a mental institution by a court or found legally incompetent. Lawmakers in many states want that expanded -- to those under treatment for mental instability, or those released from treatment or a hospital because of medication. Police fear the moment someone goes off their medication, they can become unstable. Therefore these individuals, while not committed, should not be allowed to buy a gun.

                                                                Like mental health records, the GAO found drug violations are also under-reported. The agency said most states are not informing the FBI of failed drug tests, as the federal background check law requires. It found:

                                                                • 44 states had submitted fewer than 10 records to the NICS controlled-substance file.
                                                                • 33 states had not submitted any records even though the law bars anyone with multiple arrests for drug use or possession within the past five years, or those convicted for use or possession within the last year, including marijuana. Yet the report found states with lengthy registries of medical pot smokers did not provide that information to the NICS system.

                                                                "Available data suggest that most states are not making these records available," the GAO audit said. Additionally, it said, "On May 1 2012, DOJ data showed 30 states were not making non criminal (drug test results) records available."

                                                                It is not for lack of money. Under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act, Congress provided the federal government both a carrot and stick to prod states into compliance, giving the Department of Justice authority to give and take money away from states that did not cooperate. The GAO audit found the DOJ doled out more than $25 million in grants but did not penalize one state for non-compliance.

                                                                "DOJ has not administered the reward and penalty provisions of the NICS Improvement Amendments ACT," the report said.

                                                                Nevertheless, NICS performs millions of checks every year, and usually in under two minutes. In 2010, the agency reviewed more than 6 million 4473 forms. Just 72,142 were denied the right to buy a gun.

                                                                Among those denials, 47 percent were rejected because of a felony indictment or conviction. Yet, just 44 were prosecuted, and 13 convicted of lying on their 4473 form, according to a report prepared for the DOJ by the Regional Justice Information Service in 2012. That represents just .0002 percent of all denials, and an even smaller percentage of the total number of background checks.

                                                                • 2 votes
                                                                Reply#123 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:06 PM EST

                                                                Definition of insanity - conservatives are doing the same things that kicked their ass in the last election.

                                                                  #123.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:10 PM EST
                                                                  Reply

                                                                  When Obama shows up in Chicago, Seeking, The feisty skank and Sista Beverly will all be on their knees facing him. Sluuuurp. I would love to see the pussy whipped piss ant that would marry Seeking.

                                                                  • 2 votes
                                                                  Reply#124 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:08 PM EST

                                                                  Van down by the river?

                                                                    #124.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:10 PM EST
                                                                    Reply

                                                                    Whats the government program to recover the 2,000 lost assault weapons lost to the cartels,before they show up here....if they already haven't?

                                                                    That's a lot of guns for the criminals to get their hands on,shouldn't that be addressed before they worry about Uncle Fred buying a shotgun?The government is asking for background checks because a firearm MIGHT end up in criminal hands,the 2,000 they lost absolutely ended up in criminal hands....all 2,000.

                                                                    Whats the plan for recovering them,that should be done before they worry about me.

                                                                    • 2 votes
                                                                    Reply#125 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:10 PM EST

                                                                    Let me guess? The last time you tried to walk and chew gum at the same time, you ended up with a nasty knot on your head from walking into your refrigerator?

                                                                      #125.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:21 PM EST

                                                                      Ridicule is the first and last argument of a fool.

                                                                      Thats all you got?

                                                                        #125.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:36 PM EST
                                                                        Reply

                                                                        At the end of the day nothing about gun ownership is going to change. We all know that. This may burn some of the progressive communists' butts but it is fact.
                                                                        Know what I'm sayin'?

                                                                        • 1 vote
                                                                        Reply#126 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:12 PM EST

                                                                        Yeah, I know and you also were positive Romney was going to win the election right? LMFAO!!!!!!

                                                                          #126.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:19 PM EST
                                                                          Reply

                                                                          We are not here today fighting to protect the Second Amendment.

                                                                          We are not here today fighting to protect the right to own certain kinds of Weapons or Magazines.

                                                                          We are here today Fighting for our Lives!

                                                                          If the Rights of law abiding citizens to own firearms is lost the only ones that will have Firearms will be criminals because they will not obey the laws and they will not give up their illegal firearms.

                                                                          Criminals would love to know that law abiding citizens are limited to .22’s with 7 rounds of ammo while their carrying 9mm’s with 20 round magazines.

                                                                          How can we defend ourselves and our families against criminals when they will have high powered weapons, whatever magazine capacities they desire, etc., while we are reduced to knives and baseball bats and other things the government hasn’t gotten around to banning yet, and calling 911?

                                                                          The left would have you believe that taking guns away from Law abiding citizens and dictating what kinds of weapons they have would reduce crime and gun Violence. If that is true then why does the U.S.A. still have an enormous stockpile of Nuclear weapons?

                                                                          Wouldn’t the U.S.A giving up its nuclear weapons mean the rest of the world would give up there Nuclear weapons and the Proliferation of Nuclear weapons would stop? Wouldn’t North Korea, China, Russia, Pakistan, etc. gladly give up its Nuclear Weapons if we gave up ours?

                                                                          The reason we keep our Nuclear weapons is because it is a deterrent preventing other countries from attacking us with nuclear weapons. The premise is known as “Mutually Assured Destruction”. If you attack us we will attack you and you will be destroyed.

                                                                          Legal Gun ownership is the only deterrent law abiding citizens have against criminals. It is the only thing that makes them think twice, “Will I get shot if I break into that house?”, “Is that woman I’m thinking about raping carrying a gun and I will get my head blown off?”.

                                                                          The Left would love to remove the only deterrent law abiding citizens have against criminals.

                                                                          The left would have you believe that law abiding citizens don’t need guns because we have laws and law enforcement agencies to protect you and enforce our laws.

                                                                          We are supposed to depend on the Same Law enforcement agencies that allowed 2,000 guns to walk into Mexico, into the hands of Drug Cartels?

                                                                          We are supposed to believe that the law enforcement agencies that have not been able to enforce our immigration law, which is the reason we have 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., can protect us?

                                                                          We are supposed to believe that the same law Enforcement Agencies that are suing the U.S. government because they have been ordered not to enforce our laws are going to enforce our laws?

                                                                          http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/01/29/judge-immigration-agents-suing-obama-can-move-forward/

                                                                          Judge: Immigration Agents Suing Obama Can Move Forward

                                                                          Federal Judge Reed O'Conner ruled on Friday Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' case has legal merit. They argue their bosses essentially have forced them to look the other way and not enforce the law -- thus overstepping Congress by changing laws through directives rather than legislation.

                                                                          The state of Mississippi joined the lawsuit against the administration but judge O'Conner dismissed the state from the lawsuit on Friday in the 35-page opinion.

                                                                          The agents filed the lawsuit in October against the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and ICE Director John Morton, to ask the courts to overturn last year's directive by Obama to suspend deportation proceedings and offer temporary work authorization to some immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

                                                                          We are supposed to believe that law enforcement agencies that are supposed to enforce the laws, and yet turn around and break the laws themselves committing Felonies, can be trusted to protect us?

                                                                          http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-34222_162-57560107-10391739/pistol-purchased-by-atf-agent-found-at-alleged-cartel-crime-scene-in-mexico/

                                                                          Pistol purchased by ATF agent found at alleged cartel crime scene in Mexico

                                                                          CBS News has learned that two guns found in the area of a recent Mexican drug cartel shootout have been linked to Fast and Furious: One trafficked by a suspect in the case, and the other purchased by a federal agent.

                                                                          "I didn't do anything criminal," said Gillett, who calls himself a gun enthusiast. "I've been a gun collector all my life."

                                                                          He told CBS News that he ran into financial difficulties in recent years and sold some of his firearms. Gillett says the Herstal pistol may have sold for approximately $1,100.

                                                                          Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote a letter (PDF) to the Inspector General late today asking for an urgent investigation. Grassley included records from three of Gillett's gun purchases, so-called Form 4473's, and says that Gillett appears to have provided false information on them.

                                                                          "Lying on a Form 4473 is a felony and can be punished by up to five years in prison," Grassley's letter states. The senator also points out that's the same alleged violation that suspects in ATF's Fast and Furious operation were arrested for. "Jaime Avila, Jr. recently plead guilty to a variety of charges" in Fast and Furious, including "for giving a false address on Form 4473."

                                                                          Form 4473's require purchasers to list their current residential address. Gillett's gun purchase forms incorrectly list the local ATF Phoenix office and a shopping plaza as his personal residence, according to Grassley's letter.

                                                                          Gillett did not comment on allegations about the address on the forms.

                                                                          Make no Mistake; If Dianne Feinstein and the rest of her Like Minded Comrades could get their way they would take away every gun and leave us defenseless and at the mercy of criminals and the Government.

                                                                          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Dianne_Feinstein

                                                                          Discussing why the 1994 act only prohibited the manufacture or import of assault weapons, instead of the possession and sale of them, Feinstein said on CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, February 5, 1995, "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them . . . Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in, I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't here."[26]

                                                                          In July 2006, Feinstein voted against the Vitter Amendment to prohibit Federal funds being used for the confiscation of lawfully owned firearms during a disaster.[27] [28]

                                                                          Let me be Clear; don’t make the Mistake of believing “No one is trying to take away your guns”. Remember what happened with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

                                                                          “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it”. Nancy Pelosi

                                                                          They did there back room deals and subterfuge and passed it in the dead of the night without anyone having time to read it and analyze it to really understanding its impact and how it would affect law abiding citizens.

                                                                          This is not a fight about the Second Amendment. It is not a Fight about what kind of guns and Magazines we can have; it is a fight for our Lives against those that would like us to be defenseless and at the Mercy of Criminals and at the Mercy of a Corrupt and Incompetent Government for protection against those criminals.

                                                                          If your life means nothing to you then by all means support Feinstein and Her Far left Gun Confiscation Agenda.

                                                                          If you care about your life, your family’s life, and the life of others then stop them before they are able to take away our best means of self defense and the only deterrent to criminals Law Abiding Citizens have.

                                                                          • 1 vote
                                                                          Reply#127 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:12 PM EST

                                                                          The mass murder of those kids has made your slippery slope argument much more untenable to Americans with functioning brain stems. True story.

                                                                            #127.1 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:18 PM EST

                                                                            You mean the mass murder of 55 million unborn children in the last 40 years, 3800 a day, 114,000 a month, 1.37 million a year that are aborted in the U.S.

                                                                            Look how righteous we are because we are using the death of 20 children in a mass shooting in the last 13 years to push our gun control agenda even though in that same 13 year period 17.8 million unborn children were never given a choice.

                                                                            • 1 vote
                                                                            #127.2 - Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:26 PM EST
                                                                            Reply
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