By Annie-Rose Strasser on Jan 17, 2013
at 5:30 pm
President Obama’s new set of proposals on gun violence
prevention are enjoying broad support within his administration — including the
support of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. The Secretary not only heads up
the armed forces but is himself a veteran and hunter, making his recent
comments in favor of the initiative salient to the heated debate of how gun
owners will receive the proposals.
Speaking in front of
troops, Panetta’s comments came after a soldier critiqued that Obama was
“tearing apart our Second Amendment.” In a (fairly foul-mouthed) defense, Panetta pointed out exactly how they
relate to the military:
“Who the
hell needs armor-piercing bullets except you guys in battle?”
Panetta told the soldiers at the U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza in northern Italy.
“For the life of me, I don’t know why the hell people have to have
assault weapons.”
Panetta, who said he
believes in the Second Amendment and has been a longtime duck hunter, was asked
about the issue by a soldier who wanted to know what steps the Obama
administration was going to take to deal with attacks in schools that “don’t
have to do with tearing apart our Second Amendment.”
The Secretary is not the
only military man to lend his voice to Obama’s cause. Retired Gen. Stanley
McChrystal, the former Commander of US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan, voiced his own support for Obama’s
initiative yesterday.
Law enforcement officials
have also lent their weight to the call for stronger gun safety laws. Former
New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir called for more responsible gun laws in
an op-ed yesterday — and his opinion has been widely echoed by local lawenforcement who daily witness the dangers
of firearms.
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