Obama looks to be picking a gun fight he does not need. Fox News reports:
“President Barack Obama has threatened to veto a Department of Justice appropriations bill House Republicans passed because, among other things, it includes a provision that blocks a gun control law his administration used Operation Fast and Furious to pass. The Obama administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote, and began implementing, a new rule that would require gun dealers in the four U.S. states that border Mexico to report sales of multiple semi-automatic rifles to the ATF. In the 2013 fiscal year budget for the Department of Justice and related agencies, House Republicans inserted a rider, or condition, that would force the ATF to not implement that rule …”
First off, ATF simply does not have the legal authority to implement that rule. This alone should have been enough to keep the Administration from getting involved with it in the first place. Although NRA lost their first lawsuit against it, they are appealing.
Second, the “Fast and Furious” gun running scandal is a hot issue which isn’t just going to go away. It looks as if Eric Holder is going to be charged with contempt of Congress over his refusal to provide satisfactory answers over it. It makes no sense for Obama to bring up an issue where it appears likely that a top official in his administration is going to be hit with criminal charges.
Third, this plays right into the NRA’s election strategy of painting him as a gun grabber. He’s already in trouble with the voters and the antigun label is going to cost him even more votes. He lost 40% of the West Virginia Democrat primary to a guy who is in jail.
There is no way for Obama to put a positive spin on this. What was he thinking when he made his veto threat?