Will Obama San Bernardino Address Focus On Gun Control?

The President Obama San Bernardino address taking over primetime television tonight is said to be an exercise in urging Americans “not to give into fear,” according to a spokesperson for the White House.

But what many pro-gun supporters — primarily on the right and the political center — will be wondering about is how far it will go into gun control. And, if it does, would that include a new series of executive orders designed to restrict access to firearms?

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that she fully expects that gun control is where the Obama San Bernardino address is going in comments reported by NBC News.

“What you’re going to hear from him is a discussion about what government is doing to ensure all of our highest priority — the protection of the American people,” she began, with her staff later adding that the speech will urge Congress to “review measures and take action” on “certain gun control measures.”

But what NRA members, and gun owners specifically, want to know is the other side of this call for action, as it is unlikely that a Republican-controlled Congress will have any interest in restricting gun access.

If they fail to do so, will there be executive actions coming, and if so, how far will those actions go?

That’s what most political analysts will be looking for in the Obama San Bernardino address tonight, but it’s not clear if those answers will be immediately forthcoming.

Gun supporters like Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association (NRA) issued a scathing rebuttal to previous calls for action from the President, former President Bill Clinton, and Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton prior to the Paris attacks.

As reported by QPolitical, LaPierre said that he would refuse to sit by and let President Obama lay blame on the NRA when he has “all the laws he needs” currently on the books to take action.

It was only after a crime happens that “fits his agenda” that President Obama speaks out on gun control. Meanwhile, each year, Chicago has one of the highest gun crime rates in the world with some of the strictest laws, LaPierre said.

“Why make more laws that they don’t and won’t enforce?” he left the listener to decide.

LaPierre is also a proponent of rounding up “violent criminals,” or criminals on parole who have illegal access to firearms, and putting them back in prison.

Opponents of LaPierre and the NRA believe that gun crimes do not happen with the frequency that they do in the U.S. One thing is for certain, however.

Since 2007, federal gun-related homicides are way down. The FBI’s data from 2013 — the most recent available — showed a total of 8,454 murders committed with a firearm of some kind.

In 2007, the number was at 10,129, and it has dropped steadily ever since.

Will this factor into the Obama San Bernadino address? Unlikely. The President has drawn a pretty deep line in the sand on guns.

While he is not calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment that gives all Americans the right to bear arms, he is outspoken on the idea that Americans should not have the right to own assault types of weapons, such as those used in the San Bernardino and Paris attacks.

His opponents see it differently.

In fact, Republican frontrunner is calling for greater armament of the American people in the wake of the two attacks.

But what do you think, readers? Will the Obama San Bernardino address on Sunday night be the start of the President’s executive actions for curtailing gun ownership? And if that’s the direction he goes, do you think he’s violating the Constitution of the United States?

[Image via Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com]