Well, it seems former President Barack Obama’s penchant for looking the American people in the eye and lying with a straight face hasn’t diminished since he left office. He did it most famously with Obamacare—keep your insurance, keep your doctor my ass, and now he’s doing it by spreading gun law myths.
To be fair, this time, at least he wasn’t lying to Americans. Here, he was looking our Brazilian friends in the eye and lying to them with a straight face about America’s gun laws. He selected an odd country to spout on about American gun laws. Brazil has some of the world’s strictest gun laws right along with one of the world’s highest gun homicide rates. According to worldatlas.com, Brazil’s homicide rate is twice that of the U.S.
Obama told the crowd, “Some of you may be aware our gun laws in the United States don’t make much sense. Anybody can buy any weapon, any time. Without much, if any, regulation, they can buy it over the Internet, they can buy machine guns.”
It’s ever so clear our former president has never made a gun purchase in his life. It also seems clear he doesn’t associate with anyone who has made a gun purchase. And, it’s evident he’s never even bothered to do some online research regarding the onerous gun-buying regulations.
Is it possible the person the left lauds as the most magnificent man to have ever existed in the history of the universe is that dense? I mean, these weren’t just ordinary over-the-counter lies. These lies were so blatant anyone could debunk his fabrications by spending only a minute or two on the Internet.
- Anybody can buy a weapon: Nope, not anybody. I’m a retired cop, and for each purchase I have to jump through all the hoops. One dealer even applied the handgun waiting period to me even though I was a current police officer at the time and wore a gun to work every day. There are also regulations regarding age, mental health, and criminal record issues.
I have also purchased guns “over the Internet.” But UPS driver didn’t drive up to my door and hand me my new firearm. The seller had to deliver the weapon to the Federal Firearms License (FFL) gun dealer at the gun range I shoot at. Before taking possession, I had to fill out all the federal forms, present identification, and go through a background check. Only then could I bring my gun home. Oh, for the record, it was UPS that delivered it but to the gun shop.
- Without much…regulation: See above. As you can see, there are plenty of regulations to qualify to exercise a God-given right to self-defense.
- Buy it over the Internet: Again, see above. While Mr. Obama is technically correct, we all know he was implying that a person can purchase a gun online, and the seller then has it delivered to your door.
- Buy machine guns: This one is just ridiculous. The vast majority of people cannot buy a machine gun (automatic). The federal government highly regulates machine gun purchases. No one without a federal license (FFL) can purchase an automatic weapon. Even then there is significant expense and red tape when applying for an FFL. The application for the license can take nearly a year. The fee of hundreds of dollars is annual. As of 2017, only about .04 percent of the U.S. population possesses an FFL. And of those, they may possess a machine gun, but many do not.
And, as the Washington Free Beacon’s Second Amendment reporter Stephen Gutkowski tweeted, “A fully-automatic rifle that might have only cost $500 to produce sells for $20,000-$30,000 on the civilian market now because of the 86 ban.” Gutkowski reported that the 1986 Hughes Amendment 1986 effectively banned “the sale of new fully-automatic firearms.”
I will agree with Mr. Obama on one thing he said that is true: “gun laws in the United States don’t make much sense.” All those educated, brilliant minds still can’t seem to understand the definition of the word infringed—as in shall not be. But I guess when it comes to lying to push a political agenda—even when outside U.S. borders, Barack Obama subscribes to the adage Go big, or go home.
