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President Obama Says Gun Safety, Not Gun Control
A small-yet-giant distinction stuck out during the Oval Office address Sunday night. President Obama called for gun safety measures in the fight against terrorism, and the fact that he didn't use the hotly debated term "gun control" was a clear strategy of his. People weren't slow to notice. Twitter immediately lit up with mentions over gun safety, with two very opposite sides having a lot to say.
On one hand, there were the pro-gun control users who celebrated Obama's use of the term "gun safety" instead of gun control as they felt it better described what the measures might do for the United States — make the country safer. On the other hand, there were the pro-gun users who either pointed out that gun safety is just another term for gun control or said that most gun owners do follow gun safety measures like don't point it at someone you're not willing to shoot and keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready.
Obama gave a list of steps for how he plans to defeat ISIS, a couple of which revolved around guns. He said that anyone on a No-Fly list should not be allowed to buy a gun and that it should be harder for people to buy powerful assault weapons like ones used in the San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people and injured 21.
I know there are some who reject any gun-safety measures, but the fact is that our intelligence and law-enforcement agencies — no matter how effective they are — cannot identify every would-be mass shooter, whether that individual was motivated by ISIL or some other hateful ideology. What we can do — and must do — is make it harder for them to kill.
Here's what Twitter had to say about that.
