Obama Gun ‘Control’ To Extend Beyond Gun, Ammunition Magazine Bans?

This should keep the panic buying going for a while longer with anything firearms-related. Philip Rucker reported on the Washington Post website this Saturday:

The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.

A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.

To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses. White House aides have also been in regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), an outspoken gun-control advocate who could emerge as a powerful surrogate for the Obama administration’s agenda.

The Biden group, formed last month after the massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school that killed 20 children and six adults, plans to submit a package of recommendations to President Obama this month. Once Obama’s proposals are set, he plans to lead a public-relations offensive to generate popular support.

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Well, as I blogged earlier today, Chicago Democrats tried pushing “far broader and more comprehensive” gun “control” on Illinois residents twice in the last couple of days. And failed. This in a state where “The Machine” is incredibly-influential in state politics and even got their man- Pat Quinn- elected governor in 2010 despite him winning only 4 out of 102 counties in the state. I’m sure the Chicago Democrats currently wielding power in the nation’s capital are fully-aware of the gun “control” debacle in their “home” state by now. In light of these latest developments, it will be interesting to see what exactly the “Biden group” ends up proposing.

One more thing. Regarding what Rucker said about the White House “developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses.” I have a feeling retailers who are caught “playing ball” with the gun “control” crowd will be punished by many in the firearm community. These days, I routinely encounter comments from visitors on gun-related websites, blogs, and forums declaring that they will no longer be buying anything from Dick’s Sporting Goods and Cheaper Than Dirt after the two retailers suspended sales of firearms in the days after the Newtown, Connecticut-shootings. Other retailers possibly considering such an alliance with the Obama White House on gun “control” will almost certainly be watching to see how these decisions made by Dick’s and Cheaper Than Dirt pan out for them.

By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)

Source:

Rucker, Philip. “White House weighs broad gun-control agenda in wake of Newtown shootings.” Washington Post. 5 Jan. 2013. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-weighs-broad-gun-control-agenda-in-wake-of-newtown-shootings/2013/01/05/d281efe0-5682-11e2-bf3e-76c0a789346f_story.html). 7 Jan. 2013.