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Obama Attacks Gun Rights In Wake Of Charleston Attack, NRA Supporters Hit Twitter With Stock Excuses

NRA Minions Hit Twitter With Stock Excuses After Charleston Massacre
Paul Vale
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NEW YORK -- Following Wednesday’s massacre in Charleston in which 9 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in an historic African-American church, Barack Obama addressed the nation noting that “too many times” he had been forced to make a speech about gun related killings.

Local police took Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white male, into custody on Thursday on suspicion of killing the parishioners and the church's pastor. According to one church member, the suspect used racist language during the attack: “He just said 'I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go.'"

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Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, speaks on the church shooting in Charleston on Thursday, June 18, 2015

Speaking from the White House, the President said, “any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy,” adding that there was something "particularly heartbreaking" about murder in a "place of worship.”

“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times," he noted. “Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. Once again, communities [were destroyed] because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no problem getting their hands on a gun.”

In a frank assessment of the politics of the gun control, Obama said: “Let’s be clear: At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this type of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it. I say that recongising the politics in this town... but it would be wrong for us not to acknowledge it.”

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Shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof, second from left, is escorted from the Shelby Police Department in Shelby, N.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015

Despite repeated massacres, gun control in the US remains a politically immovable issue because the firearms industry, via the National Rifle Association, spends millions of dollars each year funding politicians that defend gun rights. It also donates money to the opponents of politicians that call for greater gun control.

As of Thursday evening, the NRA had not responded to Obama's statement, however Second Amendment defenders were quick to hit Twitter (muskets in hand) to peddle stock lines and conspiracy theories:

And then there was Fox News, who on Thursday morning managed to twist the massacre away from the issue of racism and gun control and turn it into an attack on faith, specifically Christianity. They also asked a pastor if clergymen should be armed.

Despite the killings, recent Pew polls show an increase in the popularity of gun rights in the US. In research published last December, 57 percent of adult respondents said guns “protect people from becoming crime victims.” Only 38 percent said guns “put people’s safety at risk."

SEE ALSO:

People Who Want More Guns In Schools
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) (01 of09)
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"I wish to God she had had an m-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out ... and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids," Gohmert said of slain principal Dawn Hochsprung on Fox News Sunday. He argued that shooters often choose schools because they know people will be unarmed. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R)(02 of09)
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"If people were armed, not just a police officer, but other school officials that were trained and chose to have a weapon, certainly there would be an opportunity to stop an individual trying to get into the school," he told WTOP's "Ask the Governor" show Tuesday, warning that Washington may respond to such a policy with a "knee-jerk reaction." (credit:WikiMedia:)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) & State Sen. Frank Niceley (R)(03 of09)
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Gov. Haslam says he will consider a Tennessee plan to secretly arm and train some teachers, TPM reports. The legislation will be introduced by State Sen. Frank Niceley (R) next month. "Say some madman comes in. The first person he would probably try to take out was the resource officer. But if he doesn’t know which teacher has training, then he wouldn’t know which one had [a gun]," Niceley told TPM. "These guys are obviously cowards anyway and if someone starts shooting back, they’re going to take cover, maybe go ahead and commit suicide like most of them have." (credit:AP)
Oklahoma State Rep. Mark McCullough (R) & State Sen. Ralph Shortey (R) (04 of09)
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State Rep. Mark McCullough (R) told the Tulsa World he plans to file legislation that would bring guns into schools, calling their absence "irresponsible." “It is incredibly irresponsible to leave our schools undefended – to allow mad men to kill dozens of innocents when we have a very simple solution available to us to prevent it," he said. "I’ve been considering this proposal for a long time. In light of the savagery on display in Connecticut, I believe it’s an idea whose time has come."Sen. Ralph Shortey (R) told the Tulsa World that teachers should carry concealed weapons at school events. "Allowing teachers and administrators with concealed-carry permits the ability to have weapons at school events would provide both a measure of security for students and a deterrent against attackers," he said. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Florida State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R)(05 of09)
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Baxley, who once sponsored Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that keeping guns out of schools makes them a target for attacks.“We need to be more realistic at looking at this policy," he said. "In our zealousness to protect people from harm we’ve created all these gun-free zones and what we’ve inadvertently done is we’ve made them a target. A helpless target is exactly what a deranged person is looking for where they cannot be stopped.” (credit:AP)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)(06 of09)
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At a Tea Party event Monday night, Perry praised a Texas school system that allows some staff to carry concealed weapons to work and encouraged local school districts to make their own policies. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Minnesota State Rep. Tony Cornish (R) (07 of09)
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Cornish plans to introduce legislation that would allow teachers to arm themselves, according to the AP. (credit:Alamy)
Oregon State Rep. Dennis Richardson (R)(08 of09)
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In an email obtained by Gawker and excerpted below, Richardson tells three superintendents that he could have saved lives had he been armed and in Sandy Hook on Friday:
If I had been a teacher or the principal at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and if the school district did not preclude me from having access to a firearm, either by concealed carry or locked in my desk, most of the murdered children would still be alive, and the gunman would still be dead, and not by suicide....[O]ur children's safety depends on having a number of well-trained school employees on every campus who are prepared to defend our children and save their lives?
 (credit:dennisrichardson.org)
Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett(09 of09)
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"And I'm not so sure -- and I'm sure I'll get mail for this -- I'm not so sure I wouldn't want one person in a school armed, ready for this kind of thing," Bennett, who served as education secretary under Ronald Reagan, told Meet the Press Sunday. "The principal lunged at this guy. The school psychologist lunged at the guy. It has to be someone who's trained, responsible. But, my god, if you can prevent this kind of thing, I think you ought to." (credit:Getty Images)
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