Has Obama sold out his gun-control principles?

President Obama started his political career calling for much tougher gun laws, but in the wake of the Aurora massacre he's promising to defend gun rights. What happened?

President Obama
(Image credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

When Barack Obama first ran for national office in 1999, he was a vocal advocate for stronger gun laws. In an unsuccessful primary challenge against the congressman in his Chicago district, Bobby Rush, Obama called for a range of tough policies, including stiffer penalties for interstate transportation of firearms, a higher federal tax on gun sales, limiting gun purchases to one per month, and banning the sale of all firearms except "antiques" at gun shows. A decade later, after Friday's horrific massacre in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater during a screening of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Obama avoided a confrontation with the powerful gun lobby by promising to protect gun rights under the Second Amendment while using current laws to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. Has Obama abandoned his commitment to fighting gun violence with tighter gun laws?

Obama has sold out on gun control: The president's expression of sympathy for the victims in Aurora was "wrenching, touching, dramatic, sincere," says Roger Simon at Politico. It was also "baloney." His emotions were undoubtedly genuine — but "what was baloney is that he intends to do nothing about preventing such bloodshed and suffering in the future." Mitt Romney's no better of course, but Obama used to offer the victims of gun violence hope. Now he's just another of the "politicians who enable" the shooters.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us