By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
In the aftermath of the campus shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College (UCC), President Barack Obama wasted little time in politicizing the event, but at least this time he admitted it.
During a press conference, the president set the stage for a confrontation with Second Amendment advocates, and it was not long in coming. Fox News commentators Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity each took verbal jabs at Obama for zeroing in on UCC and other high-profile shootings, but virtually ignoring the ongoing carnage in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York City.
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UPDATE 10/3/15: Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told a press conference Saturday afternoon that the Medical Examiner has determined that the cause of death of the UCC gunman was suicide. He also reported that another handgun had been recovered at the killer’s residence, bringing the number of firearms seized in the investigation to 14.
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The Seattle Times noted in its coverage of the president’s remarks, “Obama dispensed with any pretense of accommodating his critics, rebutting predicted responses in unusually blunt terms. He noted that even as he spoke, he knew counterarguments were being prepared: that what was needed was more guns, or fewer restrictions.”
Then the president asked, “Does anybody really believe that?” An answer came from KVI’s morning talk host John Carlson, who challenged his Seattle listeners, “Does anyone really believe you, Mr. President?”
The president appeared to have taken a page out of the proverbial “gun control playbook,” which actually exists. Indeed, in the book Dancing in Blood: Exposing the Gun Ban Lobby’s Playbook to Destroy Your Rights, co-authored by Bellevue gun rights advocate Alan Gottlieb last year, it is revealed there is more than one “how-to” guide for gun prohibitionists that tells how to exploit tragedies to push the gun control agenda.
Alan Gottlieb
Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, actually stumbled across the playbook, apparently posted online without the authors’ knowledge, and it was quickly reported by TGM in 2013. The story raced across internet gun rights forums.
There was considerable confusion about whether the UCC campus is a true “gun-free zone,” because it appears that students and others who are legally licensed to carry in Oregon can be armed on school property. At least one student, a military veteran, told Fox News that he was carrying a sidearm but that a member of the staff told him to take shelter, instead.
However, CBS and the Associated Press in Seattle reported that the campus is a gun-free zone, and quoted the college’s security policy, which states, “Possession, use, or threatened use of firearms (including but not limited to BB guns, air guns, water pistols, and paint guns) ammunition, explosives, dangerous chemicals, or any other objects as weapons on college property, except as expressly authorized by law or college regulations, is prohibited.”
Also, during a press conference, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told a reporter that the campus is a gun-free zone. He repeatedly refused to identify the killer, who was fatally shot in a gun battle with responding lawmen.
Authorities and news media identified the killer as Chris Harper-Mercer, 26, who had apparently moved from California to the southern Oregon logging community of Roseburg and was living with his mother. There was a photo of the gunman circulating on social media which showed him holding what appeared to be a Ruger 10/22 semi-auto rifle.
According to NBC News, UCC had considered hiring armed security for the campus. School officials ultimately rejected the idea. According to retired UCC President Joe Olson, “We thought we were a very safe campus, and having armed security officers on campus might change the culture.” That “culture” now appears to have been changed, possibly forever.
Not only did Obama quickly exploit the event, so did the gun prohibition lobby. Everytown for Gun Safety has jumped into action, sending out a mass e-mail over the signature of Anneliese Davis, Oregon chapter leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Her message read, in part, “My blood is boiling. My frustration is deep. But what I’m feeling doesn’t even come close to what the friends and families of the victims and survivors are experiencing right now.”
The Roseburg News Review quoted that U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Springfield Democrat, issued a statement that might hint at a new push for gun control.
“Today’s shooting in Roseburg is a heartbreaking tragedy,” DeFazio said, “and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Roseburg’s first responders for their work in responding to the event. Once we know more about what happened today, I plan to work with my colleagues in Congress to find ways to prevent tragedies such as these.”
