President Barack Obama, left, speaks during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.
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The biggest source of tension was one of the town hall’s most memorable moments: an animated exchange between Obama and Cooper about the conservative “conspiracy” theory that Obama will eventually move to confiscate or ban guns.
Accuses it of peddling an “imaginary fiction” that has distorted debate on guns President Barack Obama tore into the nation’s largest gun lobby as he sought support for his actions on gun control, accusing the powerful lobby group of peddling an “imaginary fiction” that he said has distorted the national debate about gun violence.
Despite applause across social media for opening up the president to tough, fair questions from vocal anti-control voices like an Arizona sheriff, a gun industry executive and Taya Kyle, the widow of war veteran and “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, the NRA twitter account continued its criticism well into the night. He tried to reassure Americans there is a middle ground on a fiercely divisive issue.
“If you listen to the rhetoric, it is so over the top, so overheated”, Obama said, dismissing his opponents’ claims that his policies are an effort “to take away everybody’s guns”. “Look, I mean, I’m only going to be here for another year”.
“Let me just jump in”, said Cooper, who was moderating the discussion.
Throughout the evening, Obama sought to tamp down the notion that his administration was coming to take away Americans’ guns, calling them “conspiracy theories” and lamenting that his positions are “consistently mischaracterized”.
“There is a reason why the NRA is not here”, Obama said. “You’d think they’d be willing to have a debate with the president”.
The White House has portrayed the NRA as possessing a disproportionate influence over Congress that has prevented new gun laws being introduced, despite broad U.S. support for measures including universal background checks.
Obama announced on Tuesday a set of executive actions aimed at curbing unregulated gun sales over the Internet and at gun shows.
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Obama said peddling that message is “really is profitable for the gun manufacturers” and “a great advertising mechanism, but it’s not necessary”. That sentiment is particularly strong among gun owners, 75 percent of whom say they doubt the changes will reduce gun deaths.
