Late last year, 20 children and 6 adults were killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Although outrage was high back in December, many Americans have simply forgotten about the horrific tragedy — which is exactly what gun rights activists want them to do. But President Obama made a pledge to the families of those victims that he would be relentless in fixing our gun control laws. At least so far, he is keeping that promise!
Earlier this week, the president attended a Connecticut rally, challenging congress to honor the victims of Sandy Hook by passing long overdue gun control legislation. Speaking to a crowd of 3,100 at the University of Hartford, Mr. Obama revved up the audience with a reminder of the shooting tragedy that took so many young lives.
“If you’re an American who wants to do something to prevent more families from knowing the immeasurable anguish that these families here have known, then we have to act,” Mr. Obama said. “Now’s the time to get engaged. Now’s the time to get involved. Now’s the time to push back on fear and frustration and misinformation. Now’s the time for everybody to make their voices heard, from every statehouse to the corridors of Congress.”
The Republican controlled House of Representatives has been bending to pressure from the National Rifle Association, opting to avoid any new laws aimed at controlling guns in America. This push-back has extended throughout the country, where lawmakers in Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law REQUIRING every household to own a gun. But the families and parents of those killed in Newtown are leading the way for guns to be less available to any and everybody in the country, in the hopes of stopping the type of gun violence that killed the students and faculty of Sandy Hook.
“If you want to protect your children, if you want to avoid this loss, you will not turn away either,” said Nicole Hockley, who’s son, 1st grader Dylan Hockley was killed. “Do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.”
President Obama seems determined as ever to pass some sort of gun-control legislation, but Republicans and the NRA are just as determined to use every trick in the book to block it. “The day Newtown happened was the toughest day of my presidency,” Mr. Obama said. “But I’ve got to tell you, if we don’t respond to this, that’ll be a tough day for me too.”
As I see it, the probelm for the NRA is the same problem the GOP is facing…the REALITY that America is changing. Indeed HAS changed.
The majority of Americans, including a sizeable number of White Americans, are FINALLY fed-up with the corrupt, destructive, ignorant and unintelligent ways of both groups.
Thanks to those families who absolutely REFUSE to give up their fight for gun-safety, I believe the President will get a meaningful bill…and sooner rather than later.