WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says a National Rifle Association video referencing President Barack Obama's daughters is "repugnant and cowardly."
Obama spokesman Jay Carney says most Americans agree that a president's children should not be used as "pawns in a political fight." Carney was referring to an online video from the pro-gun lobby. The video calls Obama an "elitist hypocrite" for having armed Secret Service agents protect his daughters at school while not committing to installing armed guards in all schools.
The NRA released the video ahead of Obama's announcement Wednesday of proposals for curbing the nation's gun violence. The president is calling on Congress to enact universal background checks and ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines — all measures the NRA opposes.
The gun lobby has instead called for armed guards in schools.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Comments (19)
Add commentWhy not gun control and armed
Why not gun control and armed gaurds! Todays society has become a very scary place. When anyone chooses to vicitimize children (this includes the NRA)it should sicken all mentally sound people!
It was repugnant to
see the Kenyan Clown parade children in his campaign speech today. He want's his kids off limits but puts other people's children in front of himself for protection against criticism. And the Lefters drool and lap it all up. It's going to get interesting when the free "Obama" money runs out folks.
Performance
If you are going to condemn the NRA video, fine then, to be fair, you should also condemn the pony show at the White House putting kids out there who they tell us wrote letters.
It is hard to believe that the first thing a kid would think of is to write a letter to the President about his responsibility.
Then, out of all the letters received at the White House, the kids letters were placed on the Presidents desk.
Call me skeptical at best.
They got a shout out and a day off school, maybe a lunch, and a story to tell. Oh yes, the parents also have a story to tell.
I thought the NRA video was silly. They can do better and so can the President if he wants to.
Obama reminds me of
Richard Dawson in the movie "The Running Man".
Hmmm!
I just really wish our government was as interested in Spending Control as it is in Gun Control.
The most vocal critic of that NRA ad was probably
former Cong. Joe Scarborough, R-FL, who went into detail about his opinions this morning on Morning Joe. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/16/joe-scarborough-s-gun-c....
Scarborough is definitely an independent thinker, and regarding common sense gun laws, he doesn't accept formulaic answers or scare tactics from either side. He called out Mr. LaPierre very bluntly, and said LaPierre and his tactics were the reason the NRA is quickly losing relevance in the mainstream of American thought.
Regarding protection of Presidential kids, that NRA ad is just meant to drive up the outrage index among their bunker crowd. No President has a choice in the matter: if a President has kids, they will be guarded by Secret Service detail at all times.
The President does actually read a sampling of all the mail sent to the WH. Here's how most of the letters are screened: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/us/politics/20letters.html?_r=0.
I'm guessing the kids from Sandy Hook may have their own "mail bag" for a while, which sounds fitting to me. The "pony shows" are staged in every White House, regardless of who sits as President (and Bush had children at these kinds of events, too). The letters from kids that the President read today came off as real, and were moving, for me. Plenty of kids are worried about the violence they see and experience all around them, and we adults need to do everything we can to make it a safer, more sane place for them to grow up.
Sadie
I don't know about all the children on stage , but I do know that my 7 year old grandchild thinks the president can fix anything. I am not sure where his notion comes from but he wrote a letter that he ask me to send to the president. I only wish that my grandchild was right I don't think anyone can fix what our society. No law will stop a person from being mentally ill.
Keep
Keep your assault rifles and 30 round magazines.
Tell your little kids, over breakfast this morning that it's 'them damn Democrats' putting a scare in the world NOT the shooters entering your schools and mowing down 6 year old's and teachers.
We see what your priority is. "I need my guns to protect my family!' 'If they start with one gun they will come and take em all.' Wrong!!
Are you going to be there every single day at school, on the bus, on the playground? You can't be everywhere all the time.
Your guns over children's lives.
Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
Your grandchild could be
Your grandchild could be taught what the President can and can not do in accordance to the constitution. If you don't know where he got the notion, then I can only guess that it is from parents, other family members or school. I hope you have the chance to explain that the President has certain powers and the Congress has others.
I question if they talked about it in school without parents approval then that is not right. Some parents choose not to
fully explain everything. At seven, you don't need to tell the whole rotten story.If a child has questions, they should ask parents/family members, they should think they can fix things, not the President.
Your grandson also owes around $54,000 for the national debt. Good for you for being involved in his life.
Dodge City Kansas Residents support bringing back " Gunsmoke"
Their congessional rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) Dodge City KS ,says he would support Hollywood trying to take us all back to the 1800s so we can find out what ever happened to Chester & Ms Kitty.
A spokesman for the NRA said , " they would buy ad time on a family show like that " , enough of this Modern Family stuff...
Guns in schools are NOT a solution.
"Your grandson also owes
"Your grandson also owes around $54,000 for the national debt. Good for you for being involved in his life."
Did you tell your grandchildren that Sadie?
Ask them what scares them most, owing money or getting shot dead in school while they are learning how to spell "safety."
The real dead, not "zombies" or "CUT! Good job guys, go have lunch."
Those little children need to know what happened in another school. If you can explain to a child how to play video games then you can explain death and dying and what a gun does.
Country kids are so much wiser. They see mating and what it makes, birth, and death and why it died. My kids were raised on a farm and followed the whole circle. They seen what a gun does to a live animal and not what they seen on TV.
No problem
I have no problem with gun ownership, we own a few ourselves. We hunt with them, we are good shots too. We don't need a magazine that holds 30, we don't need the kind of gun that holds that many either.
There has to be a way of making it harder to get guns. Not just be able to buy them from Joe next door or Johns Gun Show with out any kind of background check. I know, I know "criminals will get guns and the gov. will take ours and we can't defend ourselves..." Boloney.
Don't make it so darned easy for ANYONE to get them. Background check won't hurt a thing unless you have something to hide.
The President and his family
have received more threats than ANY presidential family in history!
Yes, they should be guarded around the clock!
After all, Clinton and George W Bush still have guards. And their children had guards when they were in office.
Nan
"Don't make it so darned easy for ANYONE to get them. Background check won't hurt a thing unless you have something to hide."
No one is arguing against background checks. But with your line of reasoning, government wiretaps, reading mail/emails, random house searches and check points on the road should all be fine since you have nothing to hide.
Does this mean
that gun owners can't vote without an ID?
I don't like it when any
I don't like it when any mention is made of any President's children. It's hard for any President to not mention his children but, that would help keep them out of the spotlight.
I believe their school has had armed guards for some time as many well-known swells go there. They need to have secret service protection although I would question some of the trips made and the number of agents. I overlook that as I think growing up in the fish bowl is not easy.
My kids are just as important to me as the President's are to him. However, no one hopefully wants to kidnap them.