Lock and Load, the black helicopters are coming.

Who knew how great a difference 3 years could make? 

In 2015 at a rally in Anderson, South Carolina, then candidate Trump made the following statement.  “You know, the president is thinking about signing an executive order where he wants to take your guns away. You hear this one? This is the new. Not gonna happen. That won’t happen. But that’s a tough one, I think that’s a tough one for him to do when you actually have the Second Amendment”.  Candidate Trump was speaking about President Obama. 

In 2018 President Trump said, “I like taking the guns early like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida … to go to court would have taken a long time,”.   Take the guns first, go through due process second.”  He shared this at a meeting with legislators about school safety and gun violence.

3 years ago, Trump was making an implication to spread fear and anxiety among gun owners and supporters of the 2nd amendment.  He was speaking about comments that President Obama had made concerning any type of gun control, following other mass shootings.


Here is what 44 said.  “Our levels of gun violence are off the charts. There’s no advanced, developed country on earth that would put up with this. Now we have a different tradition. We have a Second Amendment. We have historically respected gun rights. I respect gun rights. But the idea that, for example, we couldn’t even get a background check bill in, to make sure that if you’re going to buy a weapon you have to actually go through a fairly rigorous process so that we know who you are, so that you can’t just walk up to a store and buy a semi-automatic weapon. It makes no sense.”  Obama also said, “Well, in fact, typically right after Newtown happened, for example, gun sales shot up. And ammunition shot up. And each time that these events occur, ironically, gun manufacturers make out like bandits, partly because of this fear that’s churned up that the federal government and the black helicopters are all coming to get your guns. And part of my argument is that it is important for folks to understand how hunting and sportsmanship around firearms is really important to a lot of people. And it’s part of how they grew up. Part of the bonding they had with their dad. It evokes all kinds of memories and traditions. And I think you have to be respectful of that.


The question is just, is there a way of accommodating that legitimate set of traditions with some common sense stuff that prevents a 21-year-old who is angry about something or confused about something, or is racist or is deranged, from going into a gun store and suddenly is packing, and can do enormous harm. And that is not something that we have ever fully come to terms with. Unfortunately, the grip of the NRA on Congress is extremely strong. I don’t foresee any legislative action being taken in this Congress. And I don’t foresee any real action being taken until the American public feels a sufficient sense of urgency and they say to themselves, “This is not normal. This is something that we can change, and we’re going to change it.” And if you don’t have that kind of public and voter pressure, then it’s not going to change from the inside.”


I am willing to take each of these men at their words as they speak for themselves.  Obama says we need to exercise some common-sense restraint and that change must come from public pressure on Congress.  He also thinks more stringent background checks would be a good start.  His attempt to implement such checks failed in a Congress which, like now, is subject to the extremely strong grip of the NRA.  President Trump, on the other hand, just says straight up, “Take the guns first, go through due process second.” 


I own guns and associate with people who own guns and people who abhor gun ownership.  I think my gun owner friends who share their view that their guns have been subject to immediate confiscation for decades and they are waiting for the black helicopters to show up is ridiculous.  Neither do I adhere to the view that all weapons are evil and should be destroyed. 


Obama never asked us to surrender our weapons nor threatened to confiscate them.  Trump has personally advocated just such a program of confiscation. 

Do you think the U.S. is a nation of law or tyranny?  Is it acceptable for the President of the United States to effectively deny his oath of office? 


Whaduyathink?