At the January 12 State of the Union address (SOTU), President Obama will have an “open seat” to honor shooting victims and to “send a message of Congress that they must act to make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands.”
The “open seat” will be among the seats in Michelle Obama’s guest area.
According to The Hill, Obama said he wants the State of the Union “open seat” to remind viewers that the victims’ absence “means something to this country.”
Speaking to gun control supporters in Organizing for America (OFA) on Friday, Obama said, “We want to tell their stories, we want to honor their memory and we want to support Americans whose lives have been forever changed by gun violence and remind every single one of our representatives that it’s their responsibility to do something.”
Obama reiterated his pledge to avoid voting for a presidential candidate who refuses to support gun control, and he asked gun control proponents to “demand governors, state legislators … act to make communities safer.”
Breitbart News reported that on Tuesday, Obama announced executive actions to expand background checks to private sellers and family trusts, put more requirements on FFLs, and fund “smart gun” research. With his “open seat” tactic, he is now demonstrating that he intends to pressure Congress to go further, to pass even more controls.
Conservatives are still waiting for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to stand up and take action to prevent Obama’s use of executive action for gun control.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.