Americans witnessed something highly unusual on Tuesday: They watched President Obama cry.
In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Obama wiped away tears streaming from his face as he spoke about mass murders in America and challenging gun control laws in the last year of his presidency.
The president’s bold gun control initiative could save lives across the country – white lives, black lives, Hispanic lives, Asian lives, Muslim and Jewish lives – and the lives of children.
“First graders,” Obama said of the young children shot to death in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.”
“And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day,” Obama said, referring to the rising number of Black teenagers falling victim to an uptick of gun violence in his native city.
Unable to convince Congress that stricter gun control laws could eliminate unnecessary deaths, Obama unveiled a plan through executive action to expand background checks to cover more firearms sold at gun shows and online.
Obama artfully sidestepped Congress. He reminded Americans that while he does respect the Second Amendment, he’s determined to prevent more mass shootings.
As usual, Democrats celebrated Obama’s plan while conservatives bashed the president’s efforts saying he has overstepped his legal authority, calling it “lawless” and “unconstitutional.”
Under current law, according to the Associated Press, only federally licensed gun dealers must conduct background checks on buyers, but many who sell guns at flea markets, on websites or in other informal settings don’t register as dealers.
In the final year of his presidency, Obama, who has been met with obstacles by Congress at every turn, is determined to curb gun violence.
President Obama’s Stand On Gun Control Is The Right Move was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
