Obama Bypasses Congress, Sells Gun Control Directly to Voters

The administration's strategy is to build a groundswell of support

Rather than spending time trying to win over reluctant members of Congress, President Obama wants to sell his plan to reduce gun violence directly to the voters in their districts.

For his gun control measures to advance, President Obama needs the support of centrist Democrats in Congress who are worried about their reelection prospects. So the administration decided they are better off helping to build a groundswell of popular support to embolden lawmakers, the Washington Post said.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are planning to hit the road with speeches and other public appearances to promote their gun control proposals to require universal background checks, and ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. The White House recently unveiled the plan to follow up on a promise to take meaningful action after last month's mass-shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

To start things off, Biden discussed gun issues Thursday in an online forum for voters and plans to travel Friday to Richmond to hold a roundtable session focused in part on the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

Obama will also use a new powerful tool to reach voters. His reelection campaign recently morphed into an advocacy group called Organizing for Action to promote Obama's second term agenda. The group will be able to mobilize volunteers and supporters and help raise money to pressure lawmakers, the Post said.

For Obama's State of the Union address scheduled for Feb. 12, the White House is considering inviting families of the children who died in the Newtown shooting to join first lady Michelle Obama in her viewing box, the Post reports.

Via the Washington Post

Will promoting gun control directly to voters increase the likelihood it will pass?

[DARSB]

It's worth a try.

[tiger45638]

Only if you are a free lance liberal that thinks the gov't is out for your best interests

[Zazziness]

@tiger45638 Since they're asking people to listen to their viewpoints, then contact their representatives if they agree, they really couldn't be more fair. That's government 'by The People' if anything is.

[tiger45638]

@Zazziness I agree and do contact all my state representatives. Those that do not are just allowing the status quo to make up the minds of those that are suppose to represent us.

[AndrewEvans]

Gun control's a great idea, check this video out, it proves it.

www.youtube.com/watch...

[MarkJM]

This president is misguided if he thinks this will work. The last time they tried an "assault weapons" ban in 1994, the Dems lost both houses of CONgress.

[DARSB]

I think the national mood is much different now than in '94, and sometimes risk is necessary to accomplishment.

[Gtiallday]

If the ban would have passed in 94, Lanza's mother wouldn't have been able to purchas assault rifles that later killed innocent children.

[TheJimmy]

@Gtiallday Not much of your statement is accurate I'm sad to say.

[woodtick57]

@Gtiallday

The ban DID pass in '94 for a ten year period.

[Gtiallday]

@woodtick57 Well that obviously wasn't long enough.

[PNWest]

If we are ever going to get reasonable gun control like pretty much all of the rest of the civilized world it will be because the American public demands it. Right now a small majority want it but the NRA is too powerful and the politicians on both sides of the aisle are afraid to enact it. Obama is correct in trying to push this at a grass roots level. If the public opinion numbers get large enough and the country continues to force the republican party into insignificance there will come a time that we will get gun control. Not now but perhaps in the first Hillary Clinton administration.

[AndrewEvans]

Obama wants to exploit the idea of mob rule and of course you love the idea. Go live in a socialist country somewhere. You have no grasp of the constitution and what this country is about.

[woodtick57]

@AndrewEvans

No, he wants the people of this nation to lobby their representatives for the legislation they want, which IS what this country is about...

[PNWest]

@AndrewEvans Social Security and Medicare amongst many other programs are socialist. We live in a socialist country. Why don't you move to a fascist country. It suits you better.

[Rightwing]

@AndrewEvans You guys listen to too much talk radio,please turn it off sometime and learn to think,as a law enforcement officer I sure as hell don"t want to be out gunned by some law breaking rightwing extremist with a shit load of assault weapons aimed at school full of kids.....You don't need those guns unless you plan to hunt and kill people.

[AndrewEvans]

@PNWest Socialism and fascism are never far apart. Our socialist programs, no matter how well meaning, have had a negative effect on their recipients. It's a trap though and people refuse to see it that way. Once a family enters into government dependence there is almost no way out of it. The system is literally designed to be more beneficial to stay on. No matter how cruel it sounds, we would be better off without these programs. Even those who would be charitable are deferred now a days because the government is so willing to step in. What I get sick of is tying every issue that republicans take up, whether it be right or not, in with the old racist sentiment. It's not fair, it's not right, and it holds the country back from fixing its problems.

[woodtick57]

what????!?! We have i t on good authority that the gov't isn't using technology to it's fullest and here they are using the world wide superhighway of interwebness to inform the US electorate? to quote Vinnie Barbarino, and totally date myself...

" I'm so confused!"

[PNWest]

All I can say about that is "Up your nose with a rubber hose".

[woodtick57]

@PNWest

there is absolutely no comeback to that without invoking the global killer.."sit on it" which has been banned by international treaty...

[PNWest]

@woodtick57 Occasionally the rarely used "in your ear with a can of beer" has shown promise.

[ir0nw0lfe]

The average voter now appears to be low information and easily swayed by emotion. No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

[woodtick57]

you also read the comments on the climate change article yesterday, huh?

[whataGOVwehave]

WE DON'T HAVE ASSAULT RIFLES!!! An assault rifle is a selective fire (selective between fully automatic, semi-automatic, and burst fire) rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. It should be distinguished from the US legal term assault weapons.[1] Assault rifles are the standard service rifles in most modern armies. Assault rifles are categorized in terms of using an intermediate cartridge power that is between light machine guns firing full power cartridges, which are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a light support role, and submachine guns, which fire a lower powered pistol cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge. Fully automatic fire refers to an ability for a rifle to fire continuously until the magazine is empty and no rounds remain; "burst-capable" fire refers to an ability of a rifle to fire a small yet fixed multiple number of rounds with but one press of the trigger; in contrast, semi-automatic refers to an ability to fire but one round per press of a trigger. The presence of selective fire modes on assault rifles permits more efficient use of rounds to be fired for specific needs, versus having but a single mode of operation, such as fully automatic, thereby conserving ammunition while maximizing on-target accuracy and effectiveness.

[thumper11]

Sadly, it seems our rascally public servants - in close cooperation with a complicit legacy media - have successfully marketed the falsehood that civilian semi-automatic guns are exactly the same as military weapons. We are now witnessing the reason for their deliberate misrepresentation. I call that fraud - if not treason.

[whataGOVwehave]

@thumper11 Amen!!!!

[Thunderchicken]

It's worth a shot. Half of the country was stupid enough to vote for him.

[bsking]

Bullsh#t he's bypassing Congress cause it doesn't have a chance, and that's his MO.
He believes in a country where mob rules.
He also knows to be goes to the universities in urban areas he will get plenty of good sound bites for the alphabet media to regurgitate to the low information audience.
I see Joe Biden's in Richmond, at a university convincing stupid people that he is promoting gun safety while the NRA is promoting gun violence.
What is exactly the other way around.
Look at any Democrat controlled city with their wrong headed ideas about gun control and compare the murder rate in those cities to any other city or jurisdiction that supports the second Amendment rights of its citizens to keep and bear arms.

But since Obama can't do anything but campaign and vacation... this is all we'll get until we elect a serious pro American president.

[bsking]

@woodtick57 school of hard knocks

[woodtick57]

@bsking

So no school...not surprised...

[bsking]

@woodtick57 when I was a college aged young man.... Most of the young men who elected to go to college did so out of fear. I never have had that problem.

[OhWiseOne]

Why is he having a conference in Richmond to talk about Virginia Tech? Why not Blacksburg? I'll tell you why. His gun control measures are strongly opposed by most people living around VT. He would not get a warm reception there.

[Vipervenom_40]

I believe Obama and biden both need to.be removed from office . They are up in arms about guns but sell them to drug.cartels which funnel right back into the United States . Obama openly let United States Citizens get killed and his lazy.ass wasn't worried about them because of the Muslim brotherhood .

[OhWiseOne]

Great post. Couldn't agree more.

[woodtick57]

Wow! could you tie two more disparate issues together in a less connective way? Would you even know what the word disparate means? Can we get you some more crackers for parroting things you cannot comprehend/

[Vipervenom_40]

@woodtick57 I proudly served my country and would do it again but if he sold my ass out to his Muslim brotherhood I.wouldn't hesitate to put one in him from a mile away .

[woodtick57]

@Vipervenom_40

Wow!

[Vipervenom_40]

@woodtick57 what if your family was the.ones killed because he.turned his.back and dropped security and let our citizens get killed

[FollowTheMoney]

Their are plenty of star struck dummies that will (many already have) fall for the presidents rhetoric.

[russ]

Indeed, he has charisma. Alluring but potentially dangerous. His ability to draw others into his web will undoubtedly be more effective than fighting with Congress. Nevertheless, his silver tongue does not diminish facts. Careful, America lest ye become the victim of your own demise.

[MadAmerican]

This dumbass actually believes that all Americans want more gun control. Does he ever pay attention to independent polls?

[mtkopf]

Here is the problem with this method:
Members of CongreASS no longer listen to what their constituency wants. Rather, they sell their vote to the highest bidder. I'm sorry but this seems to be a big waste of time and money. Behind door #1-the will of the majority of voters in the U.S.
Behind door #2-a bribe..er...I mean campaign donation from the gun lobby.

[humptydumpty]

Hes workin on creating enough sheeple, thats gonna take some time but just like hitler itl happen soon i think.lots are willing to disarm now
its sad

[Brownie]

Smart move. Take the pressure off him. Let the voters decide. Very smart move.. Now, lets see what the people really want.

[Buzzfriendly]

Too bad he can't put as much effort into dealing with our budget crisis as he does into trying to convince some into handing over their 2nd amendment rights. And if it were they truly were interested in stopping violence they would be pursuing an avenue that would actually do some good. This approach is not going to do one single thing to deal with the criminal and mental health element that is causing it. But hey it wouldn't be the first time government take the absolutely wrong approach to a problem. So hows that Sudafed behind the pharmacy counter solution working out to deal with the meth problem? It isn't but it does make the personal with a real need look like a addict when they purchase it. Control measures only satisfy idiots.

[Arumizy]

why would he even try to do his actual job instead of disarming us? I mean he can just raise taxes and not cut anything after all. God forbid he actually make cuts and live up to the everyone must sacrifice and contribute and pay their fair share line. Of course your fair share is purely dependant on party lines though.

[Buzzfriendly]

@Arumizy People seems to worry about the cost of everything except the cost of government.

[jessejaymes]

As an AR owner who will not be required to give it up and who has already registered it in my state I sitting back and watching. I don't think he can pull it off. Too many Southern Democrats are hanging on by a thread anyhow and no matter how much groundswell Obama gets it won't be in the south. A couple of GOP upper Midwest and elsewhere might go along but I don't think he pulls this off.

[hwyangel]

I hope your right but this is how he was able to push abortion by bypassing the Senate and pushing it through the state courts.

[jessejaymes]

@hwyangel What are you talking about? Obama has not had any impact whatsoever on Abortion.

[hwyangel]

@jessejaymes

You haven't heard of the obamacare mandates?

[Drgeezer]

There is no such thing as reasonable gun control by any government. The real purpose of Guns is to protect your family under attack from an enemy in your neighborhood or a government that wants to attack you for beliefs that conflict with its political agenda. Tyranical dictatorial government is emerging in front of our own eyes. Attempting to bypass laws redefine laws redefine law abiding citizens and reclassify them as rascists or whatever they want to to kill you and your family. That is why the 2nd ammendment is there to protect us.

[cleverusername]

Gun control or gun violence.... which is it? Because one is not linked to the other. But they keep spouting both terms together. Besides "Gun Violence" LMAO those darn guns and knives and fists and planes are Sooooo violent ... how about slippery floor violence...how about political violence....oh wait that last one is real.
Here is a novel idea lets take a hard look at "violence". The rest is agenda and or idiot based.