Mrs Clinton has pushed aggressively for more gun control measures, and Mr Sanders, who has been accused of being too friendly with the firearms industry, also says he backs Mr Obama’s actions.
Advertisement
Barack Obama attacked the “imaginary fiction” that he wants to confiscate firearms during a town hall meeting on gun control on Thursday, bemoaning the National Rifle Association’s consistent mischaracterisation of his position on the issue.
“I grew up mostly in Hawaii, and other than hunting for wild pig, which they do once in a while there’s not the popularity of hunting and sportsmanship with guns as much as there are in other parts of the country”, he said.
“There is a reason why the NRA is not here”, said Obama.
I think the president went as far as he could, but I personally would have liked to see a ban on assault weapons as well. “When would I have started on this enterprise?”
President Obama tears up while talking about the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary during a White House event to announce steps to combat gun violence on January 5, 2016.
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the group saw “no reason to participate in a public-relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House”.
The discussion was organized by CNN-not by the White House, moderator Anderson Cooper clarified-as a rare, intimate sit-down with the president, and a chance for Obama to defend policies on a deeply divisive issue. Obama criticized the NRA’s decision not to attend the event, and took aim at their fiery language in response to his actions. And Taya Kyle, the late wife of Chris Kyle, whose actions were depicted in the film, “American Sniper“, voiced concerns over tighter gun control protecting Americans. “It’s a great advertising mechanism”, Obama said.
“Keep in mind I’ve been president for over seven years and gun sales don’t seem to have suffered during that time”.
Obama’s actions on guns have drawn major attention in the presidential campaign, with the Democratic candidates backing Obama and the Republicans unanimously voicing opposition.
Aired live on CNN from a university just miles away from the group’s Virginia headquarters, the program showed Obama taking a barrage of questions from people who argued against his gun rule proposals. Donald Trump, addressing a rally in Vermont as Obama was holding the town hall, said he would eliminate gun-free zones in schools on his first day, if elected.
“I think that if you’re selling it to someone who you don’t know, I do think it’s smart to conduct a background check because you never know what’s in someone’s background, said one gun shop owner, known as “Z”.
The president also published an opinion piece in Thursday’s New York Times in which he pledged not to support any candidate who is opposed to gun control.
Advertisement
When it comes to the Second Amendment, there is fierce debate about the “right to bear arms”.
