“What
we also have to recognize is, is that our homicide rates are so much higher
than other industrialized countries. I mean by like a mile. And most of that is
attributable to the easy, ready availability of firearms, particularly
handguns.”
“And
as long as you can go into some neighborhoods and it is easier for you to buy a
firearm than it is for you to buy a book, there are neighborhoods where it’s
easier for you to buy a handgun and clips than it is for you to buy a fresh
vegetable — as long as that’s the case, we’re going to continue to see
unnecessary violence.”
“People
just say well, we should have firearms in kindergarten and we should have
machine guns in bars. You think I’m exaggerating — I mean, you look at some of
these laws that come up.”
–President Obama, remarks at a town hall at Benedict
College, Columbia. S.C., March 6, 2015
These
claims by Obama were so outlandish that Ripley wouldn’t have believed them let
alone the WaPo Fact Checker so it sent Glenn Kessler in search of the
truth. Here is how Glenn dissected and
evaluated each of the Prez’s assertions.
‘Our homicide rates are so much higher than
other industrialized countries …by like a
mile”
When
Glenn called the White House out on this one and especially the “by like a
mile” phrase, Obama’s minions tried to walk it back a bit but Glenn held them
to exactly what the Prez said; he told the students the United States had the
highest homicide rate among the nations of the industrialized world which is
both factually incorrect and a flat out lie.
These statements were made by a person that couldn’t pick the gun out of
a line up with golf clubs!
The
“industrialized countries” is generally recognized to be the 36 countries the
Organization for Economic Cooperation uses for its statistical analysis. The OECD says the average homicide rate among
the 36 countries is 4.1 per 100,000 people.
Brazil tops the list with a homicide rate of 25.5, or six
times the average, with Mexico
next at 23.4 followed by Russia
at 12.8. Tied for fourth place are Chile and the United
States at 5.2 followed closely by Estonia at 4.7.
United States does have an above average rate but the Obama said
that U.S. rate was higher
“by a mile” when in fact the rate is five times lower than Brazil and four times lower than Mexico.
“It’s easier for you to buy a handgun and clips than it is for you to
buy a fresh vegetable’
Appears
no one could quite figure out what the Prez was trying to say here in that
Glenn could find any place in the U.S where background checks are needed
to buy vegetables. Even the White House couldn’t provide an explanation
for Obama’s “vegetables and guns” comment?
“People just say well, we should have firearms in kindergarten and we
should have machine guns in bars… You think I’m exaggerating — I mean,
you look at some of these laws that come up.”
Some
states may allow firearms to be carried into bars and restaurants (unless the
owner objected), but NO PLACE allows machine guns in bars. As a matter of fact,
it takes a Federal license to even own a machine gun!
As
for guns in schools, particularly college campuses, Florida is considering a
proposal that does not specifically address kindergartens but would allow some
school personnel to carry guns, provided it is approved by school
administrators and would be limited to former or current law enforcement
or military personnel but they must receive training at law-enforcement
academies. The Law
Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which
supports gun restrictions, says “the vast majority of states – 48 of them – and
the District of Columbia
generally prohibit any person from carrying a firearm onto or possessing a
firearm on school property, within safe school or gun-free school zones, on
school-provided transportation, or at certain school-sponsored events.” Most
states also require the expulsion of students who bring firearms onto school
property, the groups says.
Appears
to make this statement, Obama had been drinking in bars rather than carrying a
machine gun into one
The Pinocchio Test
The
president was “playing fast furious” I mean “fast and and loose” with the truth
when he was talking to this group of college students no less. There is NO excuse
for the claim that in some neighborhoods, it is easier to buy a gun than
vegetable — or to say he’s “not exaggerating” when he claims that some people
have proposed laws that would allow machine guns in bars … unless he, as
President, intends to introduce legislation to make machine gun ownership in
the US.
As
for the US ranking on homicides among the industrialized nations, we might be
slightly above average but to claimed the United States had rates that were
higher “by like a mile” is so totally Bogus but typical Obama. Tell a lie often enough and people might
start to believe it!
The
gun debate is serious enough that it should not be poisoned by exaggerated claims
and faux statistics that are so outlandish that the students should have given
the president a “strolling ovation” as they walked out on his speech. The WaPo’s Glenn Kessler only awarded the
Pres Three Pinocchios for this BS presentation but I believe he shortchanged
him. This one should certainly deserve
the coveted Four! If you want to see
exactly what Glenn said, I’ll include his article uncut and uncensored below.
Three Pinocchios
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