Help End The Obama Era In 2012
Your Monthly and Quarterly Donations
Help Keep FR In the Battle!
Sponsoring FReepers are contributing
$10 Each time a New Monthly Donor signs up!
Get more bang for your FR buck!
Click Here To Sign Up Now!
Posted on 07/22/2012 6:56:33 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
White House: Obama focused on fighting gun crime with ‘existing law’ By Meghashyam Mali - 07/22/12 06:44 PM ET
White House press secretary Jay Carney on Sunday said President Obama was committed to preventing gun crimes by relying on “existing law,” two days after a mass shooting in Colorado sparked renewed debate about gun control.
Obama arrived in Colorado Sunday afternoon to meet with victims of the shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, which left 12 dead and dozens injured.
The shooting has thrust the issue of gun control into the national spotlight with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling on both presidential candidates to better enforce gun laws on the books and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) calling for a renewal of the assault weapons ban.
In a gaggle aboard Air Force One, en route to Colorado Carney struck a cautious tone, saying the president “believes we need to take steps that protect Second Amendment rights of the American people but that ensure that we are not allowing weapons into the hands of individuals who should not, by existing law, obtain those weapons," according to a White House transcript.
“There are a number of steps that have been taken and a number of others that can be taken to accomplish that goal,” said Carney, touting the administration’s efforts to increasing the number and effectiveness of “background checks.”
“The president's view is that we can take steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them under existing law. And that's his focus right now,” reiterated Carney.
Asked about a renewed push to revive the assault weapons ban, Carney said there had been “opposition to that since it expired within Congress.”
The president touched down at Buckley Air Force base Sunday afternoon, where he was met by a delegation including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, the state’s Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D).
After leaving the air base, Obama’s first stop was to the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora where he met with families of those killed in Friday’s attack, according to a White House pool report.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, deputy communications director Jen Psaki said the “tragic events” had changed the “tone” of the presidential campaign between Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney. Psaki said the visit to Aurora was a “big priority for the President, to visit with the families, to do that as soon as it was possible and made sense on both sides.”
The tragic shooting which happened early Friday morning forced both Obama and Romney to pause their campaigns. Obama returned to Washington after delivering remarks on the killings at what was scheduled to be a campaign rally in Florida. Romney spoke briefly about the incident at Bow, N.H. before cancelling the rest of his events.
Both candidates are scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Monday. Obama will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) convention in Reno, Nev. and attend multiple events that evening in Oakland, Calif., including a private dinner and later a reception at the Fox Theater.
Romney is headed to a fundraiser in Irvine, Calif., and will then address the VFW convention on Tuesday.
Psaki said campaign commercials in Colorado which were pulled after news of the shooting will remain off the air at least through Monday. But she added that the president’s speech in Reno was an “official event,” where Obama would discuss national security issues.
The White House says Obama has been kept updated on developments as Aurora police continued their investigation and entered suspect James Holmes’s home, which was rigged with explosives early Sunday.
Carney said the administration would “continue to work with local law enforcement officials,” and said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was providing assistance to local agencies.
Holmes, 24, the lone suspect in the killings, is believed to have entered the movie theater after midnight on Friday and opened fire before being apprehended by officials.
In his weekly address Saturday, Obama said he and federal law enforcement agencies would do “everything necessary to bring whoever’s responsible for this heinous crime to justice” and called on the public to turn to “prayer and reflection.”
..and if re-elected, will do anything to take them from us.
Hmmmm.
Obama: “After my election, I have more flexibility”
Zer0 is only focused on partying and golf.
The same people who said “it’s a penalty not a tax” and “it’s a tx not a penalty” and again “it’s a penalty not a tax”
July 27th is coming. We shall see.
Meanwhile every single day people are being murdered in Chicago(Black on black crime) and Obama could care less. I guess since he knows Illinois goes Dem either way he’s not bothering with dealing with crime in his state
It all ended in 2000, when Wayne Lapierre said that (then) President Clinton needed “a certain level of violence” to achieve his gun control objectives. I happen to record that episode (ABC, This Week). Cookie literally stuttered trying to respond. Wayne then went on to PERFECTLY back up his statement pointing out that the Justice Department cancelled a program in Virginia that was ACTUALLY putting bad guys (who used guns) away for a long time.
There was some debate the next week, but it was over, AT THAT MOMENT. Since then, not even Pelosi will get near that issue.
The country has made up its mind on this issue and the most significant gun legislation that involved President Obama was allowing concealed guns in National Parks (within state laws) and also a law making it easier to stop psychos from getting guns (something that NRA helped write).
He has stolen our freedom and wipes his fithy butt with the constitution.
Congress, the senate, the Supreme Court and the military all sit around pretending it is business as usual while ridiculing anyone who dares challange him or criticize him.
The gutless wonders pretend that Obama's open violations of the constitution, massive wealth redistribution, looting the treasury, overt racism, bringing muslim terrorists into the White House and actively forcing homosexualism on the country are just the normal things any president would do.
We will see if he cedes control to the UN on the 27th.
I think that’s great! He’s had a change of heart and is embracing the constitution.
Or wait... maybe he’s just trying to protect those gun owner votes through the election.
Hmmmm. /s
The UN treaty is existing law - we haven’t approved it, but it does exist now.
See you can’t put anything past this corrupt commie regime.
And note he didn’t say existing US law...
Gonna bypass Congress and make his own laws again?
Well since no one stops him ( or even protests) why not? :)
BINGO!! Didn’t Obama tell supporters that he would proceed with gun control “under the radar”, eh?
JC
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
