President Obama Calls Gun Law Loopholes 'Insane'

In his first weekly address since the San Bernardino massacre on Wednesday, President Obama called for the nation’s gun laws to be re-evaluated, focusing on a particular loophole concerning the government’s No Fly List. “It’s another tragic reminder that here in America it’s way too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun,” said the president. “For example, right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane. If you’re too dangerous to board a plane, you’re too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun. And so I’m calling on Congress to close this loophole, now.” On Thursday, Senate Republicans voted down gun-control measures that would have restricted anyone on the No-Fly list from being able to purchase firearms in the United States.

“We may not be able to prevent every tragedy, but—at a bare minimum—we shouldn’t be making it so easy for potential terrorists or criminals to get their hands on a gun that they could use against Americans,” President Obama continued. Yesterday, the FBI announced it would investigate the shooting, carried out by husband and wife, Syez Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, as a terrorist attack. Malik was believed to have been radicalized in Saudi Arabia, before she came to the United States.

“This tragedy reminds us of our obligation to do everything in our power, together, to keep our communities safe,” Obama said. “We know that the killers in San Bernardino used military-style assault weapons—weapons of war—to kill as many people as they could. It’s another tragic reminder that here in America it’s way too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun.”