Editors Note: The following raw text is from Mark Walters 1123-14 opening segment of Armed American Radio.

It substitutes
gun control for immigration as the topic of President Obamas
recent speech in an attempt to examine the chilling effects of
Obama trying to justify executive action on universal
background checksjust as he did with immigrationin the face
of a Congress that refuses to act on his gun control agenda.
My fellow Americans, tonight Id like to talk with you about gun
control. For more than 200 years, our right to bear arms has given
us a tremendous advantage over other nations.
Its kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial and more
importantly, free. It has shaped our character as a people with
limitless possibilities. But today, our background check system is
broken, and 90 percent of you know it. Law-abiding gun owners
playing by the rules watch others flout the rules. Gun shop owners
offer their products under the watchful eye of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms instant background check system
only to watch 40% of gun sales go unchecked. All of us take offense
to anyone who reaps the rewards of gun ownership in America
without taking on the responsibilities of getting a background
check and paying their fair share.
Its been this way for decades. And for decades we havent done
much about it. When I took office, I committed to fixing this
broken and weak background check system. And I began by doing
what I could to exploit the tragic murders at Sandy Hook.
Today we have more ATF agents, technology, and regulation
deployed to secure our nation's privately owned gun dealers than at
any time in our history. And over the past six years, largely due to
me, civilian gun ownership is at historic highs, while violent crime
continues to drop to record low levels.
But thats not good enough. We can do more...we owe it to our
children...if we can save one life....
Although this summer there was a brief spike in certain violent
crimes, the number of such crimes is actually lower than its been
in nearly 20 years. Those are the facts.

Meanwhile, I worked with Congress on a comprehensive fix to this

problem immediately after Newtown; however, a dysfunctional
Congress, lead of course by Republicans who take their marching
orders from the NRA and the gun lobby extremists, failed to enact
my common sense proposals to create a universal background
check system that 90% of Americans (including 60% of NRA
members) approve of. It wasnt perfect. It was a compromise. But it
reflected common sense proposals that would save lives and keep
dangerous weapons out of the hands of otherwise law-abiding
citizens who have no use for such firepower. It would have doubled
the number of ATF agents, while giving undocumented gun owners
a pathway to legal gun ownership.
And independent experts like Jonathan Gruber said that it would
help grow our economy and shrink our deficits.
Had the House of Representatives, lead by Republicans, worked
with the Senate in bipartisan fashion to craft a common sense bill
that allows you to keep your gun rights while enacting simple
common sense background measures, I would have signed it into
law and my actions today would be unnecessary. But for a year and
a half now Republican leaders in the House have refused to allow
that simple vote. Now I continue to believe that the best way to
solve this problem is by working together to pass that kind of
common sense gun control that 90% of you have told me you want.
But until that happens, there are actions I have the legal authority
to take as president, the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic
and Republican presidents before me, that will help make our
firearm laws and background check system more fair and more
just.
Tonight Im announcing those actions.
First, well build on our progress at the ATF with additional
resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can
continue to stem the flow of guns into our communities, our cities
and towns, our schools and shopping centers.
Second, Ill make it harder for just anyone to buy a gun. And while
it might be an inconvenience to those of you who insist on

continuing to buy guns, I think paying fees and taxes for your
privilege to bear arms is only fair. Those of you who are honest with
yourselves agree with me. I know you do, I heard your vote. And I
heard those who didnt vote because the system is rigged against
them.
Third, well take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of gun
owners who we expect will not comply with my executive order.
I want to say more about this third issue, because it generates the
most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation awash in
firearms ownership, were also a nation of laws. Undocumented
owners of guns, the 40% of those who currently do not get
background checks...I believe that they must be held accountable,
especially those who may be dangerous.
Over the past six years, tens of thousands of people were stopped
trying to buy guns due to our current background check
system....and while only 42 of them were prosecuted by my
Attorney General Eric Holder, a man who continues to receive my
fullest support, we know we can do better! Well prioritize, just like
law enforcement does every day.
You may be asking why it appears Im focusing on law-abiding gun
owners...some of you are asking why I don't go after criminals...the
cold hard fact is that every honest American knows that every
criminal or murderer started out as a law-abiding citizen until they
murdered someone with a gun, or robbed that family liquor store,
or shot up a school. It starts here, with you...and fair Americans
realize this.
But even as we focus on law-abiding citizens, the fact is millions of
gun owners in every state, of every race and nationality, are still
just that...law-abiding gun owners...I understand that and to you I
say, you have nothing to fear. If you like your guns you can keep
your guns....no one is going to take your guns away.
And lets be honest: tracking down, rounding up, and deporting
millions of gun owners isnt realistic. Anyone who suggests
otherwise isnt being straight with you. Its also not who we are as
Americans.

After all, most of these gun owners have been here a long time.
They work hard often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their
families. They worship at our churches. And their hopes, dreams,
and patriotism are just like mine.
As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it, they are a part of
American life.
Now here is the thing. We expect people who own guns to play by
the rules. So were going to offer the following deal: if youre a gun
owner more than five years and if you register, pass a criminal
background check, and youre willing to pay your fair share of
taxes, youll be able to apply to keep your guns. You can come out
of the shadows and get right with me.
Thats what this deal is.
Now lets be clear about what it isnt. This deal does not take your
guns away...it only makes it a little more inconvenient for you to
obtain one after I sign this order...and any law-abiding gun owner,
in fact 90% of you, have told me you agree with the common sense
measures Im outlining here tonight. It doesnt confiscate your
guns.
I know some of the critics of the action call my proposals an attack
on your Constitutional rights...well its not...I am still letting you
have your right to bear arms...Im simply keeping my promise to
the gun control lobby and initiating common sense background
checks. Mass incarceration would be unfair. Mass confiscation
would be both impossible and contrary to our character.
What Im describing is accountability. A common sense middleground approach. If you meet the criteria, you can keep your guns
and even buy a new one once in a while.
And to those members of Congress who question my authority to
make our background check system work better or question the
wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer:
pass a universal background check bill. I want to work with both
parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And the day I
sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary.

Meanwhile, dont let a disagreement over a single issue be a deal

breaker on every issue. Thats not how our Democracy works, and
Congress shouldnt shut down our government again just because
we disagree on this.
Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs right now
is a common purpose, a higher purpose. Most Americans support
the types of reforms Ive talked about tonight, but I understand the
disagreements held by many of you at home.
Millions of you go back generations in this country, with ancestors
who owned firearms for hunting or sport.
I know some worry that universal background checks will change
the very fabric of who we are, or stick it to law-abiding gun owners,
millions of you who feel youve gotten a raw deal already by paying
for the actions of criminals who misuse guns. I hear those
concerns, but thats not what these steps would do.
Because for all the back and forth in Washington, we have to
remember that this debate is about something bigger. Its about
who we are as a country and who we want to be for future
generations.
Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system that lets
40% of gun owners buy guns without a background check? Are we
a nation that accepts the cruelty of incarcerating those who could
simply have avoided it by getting a simple common sense
background check that 90% of you, including 60% of NRA
members, say they approve of?
Thats what this debate is all about.
I know the politics of this issue are tough, but let me tell you why I
have come to feel so strongly about it. Over the past years Ive seen
the determination of gun owners who worked two or three jobs
without taking a dime from the government who think they need a
gun to keep their family safe rather than the police. Ive seen the
heartbreak and anxiety of mothers who have lost their children to
criminal gun violence and I say to that mother, I feel you and I hear

you as a father myself...there is more we can do and although the

vast majority of you are law-abiding, responsible parents and gun
owners...the fact is that the next murderer will come from your
ranks if I do nothing...and I wasn't elected to do nothing...Ive seen
the courage of the gun control lobby who in the face of the NRA
and other extremists in the gun rights community have stood tall
and proud against a firearms industry that puts profits in front of
common sense universal background check legislation.
My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of gun
owners. My universal background check executive order will not
change that. It will only make us safer and if we can save one child,
we have done our jobs and I have done what I came here to do...to
act when Congress will not. I look forward to signing this lawful
executive order. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless this
country you love.
Quotes compiled by Newsmax and used in on-air segment to highlight the above
text.
Presidential Debate, Oct. 16, 2012
"We're a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second
Amendment. We've got a long tradition of hunting and sportsmen and people who
want to make sure they can protect themselves. My belief is that we have to enforce
the laws we've already got, make sure that we're keeping guns out of the hands of
criminals, those who are mentally ill. We've done a much better job in terms of
background checks, but we've got more to do when it comes to enforcement. But
weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don't belong on our streets.
Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced.
State of the Union Address, Feb. 2013
"It has been two months since Newtown. This is not the first time this country has
debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming
majorities of Americans Americans who believe in the Second Amendmenthave
come together around common-sense reformlike background checks.
State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2014
"Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each
day. I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over
this country who say 'we are not afraid,' and I intend to keep trying, with or without
Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie
theaters, shopping malls, or schools like Sandy Hook."

2008 Philadelphia Primary Debate, April 16, 2008

"I think we can provide common-sense approaches to the issue of illegal guns that
are ending up on the streets. We can make sure that criminals dont have guns in
their hands. We can make certain that those who are mentally deranged are not
getting a hold of handguns. We can trace guns that have been used in crimes to
unscrupulous gun dealers that may be selling to straw purchasers and dumping them
on the streets."
Las Vegas Democratic Debate, Jan. 15, 2008
As a United States Senator, Obama spoke about licensing and registering gun
owners. At the Jan. 15, 2008, Democratic debate in Las Vegas, he was asked if he
would do that as president:
"I don't think that we can get that done, but what we can do is to provide just some
common-sense enforcement. The efforts by law enforcement to obtain the
information required to trace back guns that have been used in crimes to
unscrupulous gun dealers. As president, I intend to make it happen. We essentially
have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. Youve got the tradition of
lawful gun ownership. It is very important for many Americans to be able to hunt,
fish, take their kids out, teach them how to shoot. Then you've got the reality of 34
Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago. We can
reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and
that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the
kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets."
Minneapolis Town Hall Meeting, June 2014
Late June of this year, the American tyrant was asked a question about the rising
number of school shootings since the elementary school massacre in Newtown,
Connecticut, and vowed to continue to fight for common-sense legislation.
Obama urged gun-control advocates to get as organized and well-financed as the
National Rifle Association:
"Honestly, this is not going to change unless the people who want to prevent these
kinds of mass shootings from taking place feel at least as passionate, at least as
mobilized and well-funded as the NRA and the gun manufacturers are because the
politics in Congress are such where even members of Congress who know better are
fearful if they vote their conscience and support common sense measures like
background checks, they're worried they're going to lose.