President Obama and Guns

Dear President Obama,

I understand that you are once again trying to show “leadership” on gun control. Let’s talk about how to do that.

First off, let’s talk about what leadership is. It’s setting an example by what you do, NOT making rules for people you “manage” (rule) while you yourself are exempt from them. That’s a mistake that all sorts of people make, in business and in politics. The gun control movement is rife with people who are clearly not living under the rules they want to impose on others and this may be one of the biggest reasons why they have become politically ineffectual.

•   Pope Francis saying that people cannot call themselves Christians if they manufacture or own guns, while he is surrounded by bodyguards carrying…guns.

•  Michael Bloomberg and Shannon Watts rejecting the need for a  “good guy with a gun” while accompanied by bodyguards with…guns.

• Mark Giffords buying an AR15 right after standing beside his wife Gabby and saying that “the people” don’t need AR15s

• Dianne Feinstein constantly lobbying for gun control laws while being one of the rare Californians with a concealed carry license

To reiterate, these are not leaders, these are people lobbying for rules that affect the little people but not them.

So how can you show leadership on gun control? There is only one way. Show us by example. If you want gun restrictions in place, apply those restrictions to yourself first.

If you want to ban or restrictively license handguns, do not allow the Secret Service to carry handguns.

If you want to ban or limit ownership of semiautomatic rifles, do not allow the Secret Service to carry semiautomatic rifles, let alone the fully automatic weapons they actually carry.

Better yet, restrict your protection detail to the double barreled shotguns Joe Biden says are adequate for self defense.

After all, a good guy with a gun isn’t any good against a bad guy with a gun, right? So all those guns the Secret Service carries are more dangerous to you, those brave officers and their families than any illusion of protection they provide.