Vilsack sees rural support for gun law changes
January 18, 2013 | 02:08 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday that he backs President Barack Obama’s proposed changes to gun laws, and that he believes there is support for them in rural America even though there has always been a lot of concern about gun rights in rural areas.
Earlier this week, however, the American Farm Bureau Federation passed a resolution opposing any changes to gun laws even though its keynote speaker was astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived an assassination attempt in January 2011. Kelly and Giffords have formed Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political action committee to counter the influence of the gun lobby.
Tom Vilsack
Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report that he believes health care professionals and “faith-based” leaders will provide the core of support for changes to gun laws. In an interview after he spoke to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on food issues, he said that Obama “has set out a series of steps that can reduce these mass killings.”
Vilsack said that while Obama was making his presentation he was “struck by the emotion” of the situation. “I watched the faces of the parents who were there and who had lost children.”
The secretary also said he is struck by the conflict between the constitutional right to bear arms and the right to assemble.
Adding that he believes opinion is divided on the issue in rural America as well as urban America, Vilsack said, “inaction is unacceptable.” He said he has talked with sportsmen who understand why there is an issue with “magazine clips.”
Vilsack did not bring up gun control with either the mayors or at the American Farm Bureau Federation meeting when spoke to that group in Nashville on Monday.
Mark Kelly
But gun control did come up at the Farm Bureau meeting when Kelly spoke to the group and during the resolutions process on Tuesday.
Kelly did not address gun issues directly in his paid speech, but did talk about it with reporters during a news conference. Kelly stressed that both he and Giffords are gun owners and that he is a hunter, but also said that he believed the proposals that Vice President Joe Biden has presented to the president were reasonable.
Kelly said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, but believes in universal background checks. “Mental illness is a serious problem with gun violence,” he said.
Kelly also said that when “kids die in schools,” controlling guns, particularly high-capacity magazines, is “a matter of public safety.”
He and Giffords have formed their PAC, he said, because “you have to raise money to get a message out.”
In his speech, Kelly was inspirational, mixing anecdotes about his career in space with stories of his marriage to Giffords and the assassination attempt.
Kelly noted that he grew up in New Jersey as the child of two police officers who set the stage for the philosophy that has guided him since boyhood: “Have a goal, a plan and then work hard.” He described himself as “an underachiever who had to overcome a lack of natural aptitude” at many of the skills required to succeed as a Naval aviator, test pilot and, later, astronaut.
“How good you are at the beginning is not a good indicator of how good you can become,” Kelly said. He also said that Giffords reminds him nearly every day to “Deny the existence of failure.”
In appearances on CNN in the past week, Kelly has opposed a proposal by National Rifle Associaton lobbyist Wayne LaPierre for armed guards in schools.
“This really isn’t about the Second Amendment, I don’t believe it is — this is about gun safety and it's about safety of the public,” Kelly added.
Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman at a news conference late Tuesday noted that his organization had passed a resolution supporting the Second Amendment and that the group believes current laws should be enforced. The resolution also said that Farm Bureau opposes “any additional expansion of taxes or new taxation of firearms, ammunition or reloading equipment and supplies” and “more stringent gun control laws.”
Earlier this week, however, the American Farm Bureau Federation passed a resolution opposing any changes to gun laws even though its keynote speaker was astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived an assassination attempt in January 2011. Kelly and Giffords have formed Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political action committee to counter the influence of the gun lobby.
Tom Vilsack
Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report that he believes health care professionals and “faith-based” leaders will provide the core of support for changes to gun laws. In an interview after he spoke to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on food issues, he said that Obama “has set out a series of steps that can reduce these mass killings.”
Vilsack said that while Obama was making his presentation he was “struck by the emotion” of the situation. “I watched the faces of the parents who were there and who had lost children.”
The secretary also said he is struck by the conflict between the constitutional right to bear arms and the right to assemble.
Adding that he believes opinion is divided on the issue in rural America as well as urban America, Vilsack said, “inaction is unacceptable.” He said he has talked with sportsmen who understand why there is an issue with “magazine clips.”
Vilsack did not bring up gun control with either the mayors or at the American Farm Bureau Federation meeting when spoke to that group in Nashville on Monday.
Mark Kelly
But gun control did come up at the Farm Bureau meeting when Kelly spoke to the group and during the resolutions process on Tuesday.
Kelly did not address gun issues directly in his paid speech, but did talk about it with reporters during a news conference. Kelly stressed that both he and Giffords are gun owners and that he is a hunter, but also said that he believed the proposals that Vice President Joe Biden has presented to the president were reasonable.
Kelly said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, but believes in universal background checks. “Mental illness is a serious problem with gun violence,” he said.
Kelly also said that when “kids die in schools,” controlling guns, particularly high-capacity magazines, is “a matter of public safety.”
He and Giffords have formed their PAC, he said, because “you have to raise money to get a message out.”
In his speech, Kelly was inspirational, mixing anecdotes about his career in space with stories of his marriage to Giffords and the assassination attempt.
Kelly noted that he grew up in New Jersey as the child of two police officers who set the stage for the philosophy that has guided him since boyhood: “Have a goal, a plan and then work hard.” He described himself as “an underachiever who had to overcome a lack of natural aptitude” at many of the skills required to succeed as a Naval aviator, test pilot and, later, astronaut.
“How good you are at the beginning is not a good indicator of how good you can become,” Kelly said. He also said that Giffords reminds him nearly every day to “Deny the existence of failure.”
In appearances on CNN in the past week, Kelly has opposed a proposal by National Rifle Associaton lobbyist Wayne LaPierre for armed guards in schools.
“This really isn’t about the Second Amendment, I don’t believe it is — this is about gun safety and it's about safety of the public,” Kelly added.
Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman at a news conference late Tuesday noted that his organization had passed a resolution supporting the Second Amendment and that the group believes current laws should be enforced. The resolution also said that Farm Bureau opposes “any additional expansion of taxes or new taxation of firearms, ammunition or reloading equipment and supplies” and “more stringent gun control laws.”
- Remarks by the President and the Vice President on Gun Violence
- “Now Is The Time: The President’s Plan to Protect Our Children and Our Communities by Reducing Gun Violence”
- White House Memo: Improving Availability of Relevant Executive Branch Records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
- White House Memo: Engaging in Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence
- White House Memo: Tracing of Firearms in Connection with Criminal Investigations
- Audio: Mark Kelly News Conference