Because President Obama used the word gun in his statement about the Zimmerman verdict, Republicans are freaking out and claiming that he is coming for their guns.
The idea that Obama was using Zimmerman’s acquittal to push gun control spread like a moronic virus across the right thanks to a post on Breitbart that said, “He added that Americans should “honor” the life of Trayvon Martin by committing to “stem the tide of gun violence,” and “ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion in our communities.” In March 2012, Obama had lent his political weight to those pressing for Zimmerman’s prosecution, saying that “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” In his statement Sunday, he did not comment on calls by the NAACP and others for a Department of Justice prosecution of Zimmerman on civil rights grounds. Obama’s push for gun control laws foundered earlier this year in the Democrat-controlled Senate.”
The problem is that President Obama never mentioned gun control in his statement. What the president actually said was, “I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.”
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Obama never used the words gun control. The president was asking the nation to take some time and reflect on understanding, compassion, and to ask yourself if we are doing enough to prevent gun violence. The Obama haters assumed that if the Kenyan Muslim Socialist president used the word gun in a statement, he obviously was talking about taking their guns away.
Drudge posted a link titled, “Obama: Honor Trayvon with Gun Control.” That link was picked up by everything from tea party.org to The Daily Paul. Michelle Malkin’s Twitchy is full of tweets claiming that Obama is using Trayvon Martin to push gun control.
Republicans are now freaking out because of something that Obama never said, but a cleverly worded Breitbart article suggested that he meant. By tomorrow morning, this story will be on Fox News. By tomorrow afternoon, Rush Limbaugh will be talking about how Obama is using Trayvon Martin to push gun control.
By tomorrow night, Republicans will be swearing to the Lord above that Obama said that he was taking their guns away.
There is a full blown right wing freak out underway, and it was set off by something that the president never said.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
