On Friday, National Gun Violence Awareness Day, former President Barack Obama weighed in, calling for more gun control. This prompted a severe backlash on Twitter from gun rights activists.
Obama tweeted, “Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. We must honor victims of gun violence & support the mobilization of responsible gun ownership to keep our communities safe. We must do more to reduce gun violence & push for common–sense gun safety reforms.”
On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, let’s honor the victims of gun violence – and do what we can to prevent even more tragedies.
Keep using your voice to call for change, keep voting, keep urging Congress to take action. And support the work of organizations like @Everytown…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 2, 2023
One Twitter user responded, “Man who drone bombed American citizens, weddings, funerals, and schools lectures on gun violence.”
The former president’s call for more gun control was coupled with support for Bloomberg–affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety. This prompted even more pushback from the pro–gun community.
Another Twitter user posted a photo of Obama skeet shooting that had been photo–shopped to add a detachable magazine and an adjustable rear stock to the firearm.
Some of the responses referred to President Biden, some going so far as to call him Obama’s “guy,” and questioning why Obama was talking about “gun violence” when the administration has left stockpiles of weaponry in Afghanistan and an unsecured Southern border.
Twitter user @KCPayTreeIt posted, “It’s funny how nobody talks about gun violence when Obama’s guy leaves stockpiles of weaponry in Afghanistan that have been seized by the Taliban and leaves our Southern border unsecured.”
Other Twitter followers posted photos of former Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, whose life was cut short while on duty in December 2010. Two Operation Fast and Furious rifles were found at the scene where Terry was killed; an Obama–era operation in which over 2,000 guns were smuggled into Mexico.
This back-and-forth demonstrates just how divisive the gun control debate in America can be. Although gun rights activists argued that Obama’s call for more gun control was wrong–headed and unwarranted, Obama and his supporters argue that there is a need for more regulation in order to keep our communities safe.
