President Obama Protected American Citizens When Issuing Gun Control Executive Orders

As stated in a previous blog, freedom of the press and  speech are guaranteed in the First Amendment and are being withered  away by the United States government in the name of national security.  This gradual but creeping infringement on the First Amendment is often overlooked by many Americans who believe that any gun regulation is far worse  than a restricted press.

Let's categorically state, Americans will continue to own guns and this writer does not want to see it any other way.   However, there needs to be some gun regulations---and yes only criminals will break the laws when purchasing guns---and those criminals need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the laws. 

Magazine Guns and Ammo published a list of the "10 best countries for gun owners".   Of course the United States remains number one.   But the other nine countries on the list had some form of any regulation which the editors of course viewed as bad.

Besides the United States, Guns and Ammo listed the following countries with the best place for gun ownership,  The best place for gun ownership is listed first in the order from best to worst: 

• United States
• Czech Republic
• Switzerland
• Panama
• Norway
• Canada 
• Sweden
• Serbia
• Finland
• Honduras 

The countries on the list  which are stable democracies similar and perhaps even better than the United States as a place to live have gun regulations worth looking at.

The gun regulations of countries with similar standard of living as the United States are directly quoted from Guns and Ammo as:

Finland: An acquisition license is required to buy firearms, and a separate license is required for each individual gun. Gun owners must declare a reason for ownership such as hunting, target shooting or collecting, but self-defense is not considered valid. All guns must be locked in the home. If the collection includes more than five guns, they must be stored in a safe that has been inspected and approved by local police. 

Sweden:Swedish self-defense laws essentially render any shooting an unjustifiable one. The gun-control laws are numerous and draconian. Those over 18 may obtain a license from the police to own a gun and must declare their reason for applying: sport shooting, hunting or collecting. Sport shooters must belong to a club for six months before obtaining a license; prospective hunters must pass an examination. Guns registered for sport may not be used for hunting. Swedes are only permitted 6 hunting rifles or 10 pistols, or an eight-gun combination of rifles and pistols (all of which must be stored in an approved safe), and they cannot purchase ammunition for a firearm they do not own. 

Canada:Canada has outright bans on pistols with barrel lengths under 4.1 inches, semi-auto rifle magazines holding more than 5 rounds and semiautomatic pistol magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Pistols with barrel lengths exceeding 4.1 inches, long guns with an overall length under 26 inches and semi-auto rifles with barrels under 18 ½ inches (i.e. AR-15 variants) can only be shot at firearms ranges and require a special firearms ranges and require a special license. All gun ownership requires a “possession and acquisition license.” Canada’s storage requirements include provisions that the guns be unloaded and rendered inoperable or locked. Forget using them for self-defense. 

Other than 911 and Pearl Harbor, the United States has not been threatened by an invading army and in all likelihood the mainland probably never will be.  For other countries on the list as Switzerland and the Czech Republic,  gun traditional ownership is viewed as a necessity in the event of an invasion.   And that indeed makes some sense after Putin's Russia has recently invaded the Ukraine as well as  the Czech history of  dealing  with both German and Soviet occupations. 

Some form of gun regulation has been needed in the United States for a very long time.   Unfortunately for Americans, the NRA is a strong lobbyist in Congress and politicians of both parties are in the NRA  pocket.

President Obama has tried to get some Congressional action in terms of some form of gun regulation and finally he had to resort to Presidential Executive Orders, a clear circumvention of Congress,  to have some needed  gun control.

As Commander- in- Chief it would be very remiss if he did not take some actions to bring some control to a situation out of control.   The very dysfunctional Congress could have acted and it did not. 

Let the Supreme Court make the decision on these executive orders.