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2016 S.O.T.U. Address Impedes The NRA


January 25th 2016



This January... President Obama gave his final, “State of the Union Address,” but during that address the President began by mentioning climate change and bi-partisan co-operation in recent weeks. Furthermore, in doing so, the President coined the term, “who knows, we might surprise the cynics again.”

The President spoke boldly;

“From helping children learn to write computer code... to fixing a broken immigration system, protecting our kids from gun violence, paid leave... raising the minimum wage, this is a time for change. Change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work.

Mr. Obama highlighted several key issues, including teaching students how to write computer code. That was of particular importance because it pertained to a field, where I believe that many American student’s are often left behind.

The President also spoke on topics including, “criminal justice reform,” and prescription drug abuse.

“Progressing on the work, that needs to be done,” was the theme of the speech. During this speech, the President did a very good job of acknowledging the issues facing our country, while showing that he does deeply care about the people he represents.


*And here's a quick overview from Barack's Twitter.

A champion of the issues, Mr. Obama spoke very well.

However, did the President go too far? And particularly with regards to his stance on guns?

Whereby, this past week Mr. Obama took action to increase federal background checks, on gun owners and in regards to this legislation Obama stated, “what if we could stop just one,” in reference to gun crimes and in particular, gun crimes plaguing his hometown of Chicago.

Gun violence may be a systemic problem within the United States, however, many times these cases involve extreme situations. In my opinion, most often, gun violence occurs when extreme violence is more then likely already going to take place, whether it be with a gun, or some other type of weapon. For this reason, I personally felt that the President… may have fallen off base, with his recent actions and remarks, notably in opposition to the NRA.

This tone deprecates freedom to carry a firearm and for me personally, often feels like a closed minded approach, to a much greater problem. This is Obama’s legacy, in terms of doing many things right, yet infringing upon American’s freedom(s), by combating the NRA. Furthermore, in many ways, gun rights and gun ownership, have become a part of America’s national identity. This makes the issue of gun violence, an incredibly dangerous issue for the Democrats to oppose.

This issue is troubling for a variety of reasons.

I personally believe, that most American gun owners, view gun ownership as a vehicle for personal safety, not a weapon to inflict terror. For this reason, I think the Democrats are walking a very thin line, in opposition of the NRA today.

I see this issue as a turning point for Democrats, a turning point which could cost Hillary Clinton the upcoming Presidential election.

Often times, people fear a reality that there are hundreds of millions of guns, in America today, however, I actually view this statistic as a positive. And that is because in many ways, gun ownership is really an internal mechanism, for national defense. Furthermore, I also view gun ownership along the lines of civilian empowerment. Whereby, this is in essence, "a power to the people issue," and a way of keeping checks and balances on the federal government, itself. What else would stop a future government from eliminating food benefits from 10’s of millions of people? And what’s more empowering to the general populous than 2nd amendment?

Pause.

Other than that, Mr. Obama’s State of the Union speech was eloquent.

(Full speech below.)

-William Larsen