How many lies can fit
into a speech?
Let's see:
1. "(The USA is)
the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt
with this kind of frequency. It doesn't happen in other advanced countries.
It’s not even close."
Truth: the US, when
adjusted for population, is well behind the top 5 countries in mass shootings.
All of these top 5 have somewhat or very restrictive firearms policies.
2. "There’s a
general consensus in America about what needs to be done"
Truth: there is no
"general consensus" about what needs to be done. Of random people
I've discussed the topic with- NOT known supporters of my political views- no
more than 1 in 3, at most, say anything about further restricting firearms
access to the general US populace. More intensive scrutiny of incoming
immigrants and better US mental health care are mentioned much more frequently.
3. "We don't need
to be talking past one another. But we do have to feel a sense of urgency about
it. In Dr. King’s words, we need to feel the “fierce urgency of now.” Because
people are dying. And the constant excuses for inaction no longer do, no longer
suffice."
Truth: the obvious
insinuation is that violent crime is rising in the US. The FACT is that the
most recent FBI data (2014) shows the exact opposite. I don't like graphs, but
this makes the point at a glance:
4. "To prove that
the vast majority of Americans, even if our voices aren’t always the loudest or
most extreme, care enough about a little boy like Daniel to come together and
take common-sense steps to save lives and protect more of our children."
Truth: this is a
two-fer, in which the President uses an emotional appeal to suggest that if you
don't support his political agenda, you don't care about the lives of children,
and adds the lie that his suggestion are "common sense" (which I'm
pretty sure he wouldn't know if it bit him). This president may lie more per
sentence than even Bill Clinton.
5. "I believe in
the Second Amendment. It’s there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to
bear arms. No matter how many times people try to twist my words around -- I
taught constitutional law, I know a little about this."
Truth: "weapons
that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don't belong on our
streets." In other words, President Obama "believes in the Second
Amendment", he just doesn't believe US citizens should have modern
firearms.
2012 Issues.
6. "We all
believe in the First Amendment, the guarantee of free speech, but we accept
that you can’t yell “fire” in a theater. We understand there are some
constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. We cherish our
right to privacy, but we accept that you have to go through metal detectors
before being allowed to board a plane. It’s not because people like doing that,
but we understand that that’s part of the price of living in a civilized
society."
Truth: no matter how
much US citizens may dislike it, airlines are private entities, and are
entitled to whatever restrictions they wish to place on those who choose to use
their service. Now, whether any US governmental agency should be allowed to
dictate what policies must be enforced on all airline customers is a different
question altogether, but the airlines themselves could enforce any restriction
they wanted, so long as it was equally applied to all of their clients, without
any infringement on Constitutional rights.
7. "If a father
wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background
check, purchase his weapon...A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over
the Internet with no background check, no questions asked."
Truth: this is one of
the most blatant lies in recent history. This has not been legal since before
Al Gore invented the internet. Selling modern firearms through the mail to
anyone but licensed dealers except in very controlled circumstances ALSO
requiring documentation has been illegal for almost 50 years. You get to choose whether you believe the President is willfully lying, or is
ignorant of something I've known since before I was a teenager. Current law
showing that firearms purchased from out of state and shipped must be received
by a firearms dealer (FFL) is here.
8. "A recent
study found that about one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had
criminal records -- one out of 30 had a criminal record. We’re talking about
individuals convicted of serious crimes -- aggravated assault, domestic
violence, robbery, illegal gun possession."
Truth: if you read
carefully, and think about it, you'll see that the President suggests one in 30
people looking at this website have a violent or disqualifying criminal record,
but THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID. Most of you reading this have a "criminal
record", even if it's only for speeding. You've probably looked at one or
more gun sites, too, you criminal.
9. "So we’ve
created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different
set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way
and subjects themselves to a background check."
Truth: repetition of
previous blatant lie.
10. "Senator John
McCain introduced a bipartisan measure to address the gun show loophole."
Truth: there is no
"gun show loophole". Requirements for licensed gun dealers are the
same whether they are selling from their shop or at a show. Here are the ATF
requirements, which the President is either blissfully ignorant of, or is lying
about: It would be statistically
improbable that almost every so-called gun control advocate would be ignorant
of the truth, so the obvious conclusion is that they are all lying.
11. "Some of you
may recall, at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in
China took a knife and tried to kill -- with a knife -- a bunch of children in
China. But most of them survived because he didn’t have access to a powerful
weapon. We maybe can’t save everybody, but we could save some."
Truth: the suggestion
is being made that firearms are very dangerous weapons, the most dangerous
weapons an ordinary citizen might have access to. Not a claim that stands up to
scrutiny when comparing a projectile with from about 190 up to about 2400
ft-lbs of energy (common firearm caliber projectile energy at the muzzle) with
any car. A Smart Car FourTwo with a single passenger, traveling at only 30 mph
has 60,500 ft-lbs of energy.
12. "we know that
background checks make a difference. After Connecticut passed a law requiring
background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40 percent --
40 percent. Meanwhile, since Missouri repealed a law requiring
comprehensive background checks and purchase permits, gun deaths have increased
to almost 50 percent higher than the national average. One study found,
unsurprisingly, that criminals in Missouri now have easier access to guns."
Truth: the Connecticut violent crime rate has been declining since at least 2009, with an uptick due
to the 2012 Newtown killings. The rate of decline from 2012-2013 is very
similar to the rate from 2010-2011.
The President
conveniently "forgot" to give any authentic sources for his fuzzy
facts.
13. "And the
evidence tells us that in states that require background checks, law-abiding
Americans don’t find it any harder to purchase guns whatsoever."
Truth: Analysis of NICS flags (denials to purchase) in 2009 show about 94% of the flags were
false. Described another way, out of 71,010 initial denials, 77 people were
prosecuted for attempting to illegally purchase a firearm.
14. "The evidence
tells us that in states that require background checks, law-abiding Americans
don’t find it any harder to purchase guns whatsoever. Their guns have not been
confiscated. Their rights have not been infringed."
Truth: in California,
in particular, laws passed in 2013 and 2015 have resulted in seizures of
legally purchased firearms, sometimes due to complaints filed by parties who
had other disputes with the firearm owners. Veteran Rick Bailey had his
firearms seized after a neighbor filed a harassment charge against Bailey as a
result of Bailey's complaints to the city about the neighbor's waste disposal
business.
The 2015 law allows
local authorities to seize guns for up to 21 days while a determination is made
as to whether the gun owner is fit to possess them.
15. "When it
comes to an inherently deadly weapon -- nobody argues that guns are potentially
deadly -- weapons that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, Congress
actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research
into gun violence; made it harder to collect data and facts and develop
strategies to reduce gun violence. Even after San Bernardino, they’ve refused
to make it harder for terror suspects who can’t get on a plane to buy
semi-automatic weapons."
Truth: according to
the FBI, there were 8,124 murders with firearms in the US in 2014. There were
721 justifiable homicides.
According to the CDC,
in 2014 there were 586 accidental shootings and 21,334 suicides with firearms.
This is a grand total of 30,765 deaths caused with a firearm in 2014. Oddly
enough, this is less than the number of traffic fatalities (33,736) and
considerably less than poisoning fatalities (42,032). and even a bit less than
deaths from unintentional falls (31,959), but the President refuses to call for
more "common-sense" regulations of motor vehicles, deadly chemicals
and ladders. Where is the outrage?
Those "terror
suspects" the President references include US National News Anchors who
travel worldwide. You know- to report stories. Because that's their job.
16. "Number one,
anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct
background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions."
Truth: anyone who
sells functional modern firearms (made after 1899) must have a license and
comply with state background check law, which either requires a per-transaction
background, or that the purchaser hold a firearm permit which required a
background check, depending on the state. President Obama does not specifically
state that businesses selling firearms currently may not possess FFLs, but he
does insinuate it.
17. "We’re also
expanding background checks to cover violent criminals who try to buy some of
the most dangerous firearms by hiding behind trusts and corporations and
various cutouts."
Truth: trusts can be
set up to make firearms purchase and transfer easier and less hassle, but a
violent criminal (any felon or someone convicted of domestic violence) may
still not legally purchase or use any modern firearm.
18. "We're going
to require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely
basis."
Truth: FFLs are
required to report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours.
19. "We’re going
to ensure that federal mental health records are submitted to the background
check system, and remove barriers that prevent states from reporting relevant
information."
Truth: what the
President is describing is a violation of current Federal law. "Mental
health records" are protected just like any other medical information, and
the fact that the President wants to take your confidential information and put
it in government databases should alarm everyone. The Department of Health and
Human Services has already clarified that health providers are allowed to give
patient information to " law enforcement, family members of the patient,
or other persons, when you believe the patient presents a serious danger to
himself or other people".
Some veterans are
already losing their firearms or are being denied firearms purchases because of
VA reporting, such as veteran John Arnold being entered into NICS as ineligible
after he suffered a stroke. President Obama wants to expand this reporting,
which is already clearly causing problems for some fully competent lawful
Americans.
20. "Nearly two
in three gun deaths are from suicides."
Truth: this is
absolutely true, and it's nice that President Obama managed to say at least one
true statement during this recitation of lies, insinuations, and half-truths.
Mr. Obama does not, however, mention that only half of suicides are committed
with firearms. What about the rest, Mr. President?
So, there you have it.
There are even more untrue or, at best, deceptive statements in what President
Obama said, but I'm just too tired to point out any more, and if you're honest,
you've already been convinced that the President is deliberately lying to the
American people. He does want to restrict your firearms freedoms, he does not
want you to have capable modern firearms, and he is perfectly willing to take your
confidential medical information and put it in a Federal database, which we
have seen even this year is fully susceptible to access by hackers. Because
screw freedom.