Obama's Gun speech: A model for Middle East Peace

The day the President of the United States can give the sort of speech he gave today on gun control and the gun lobby but on Israel and the Israel lobby is the day we can say the US has a shot at being an evenhanded mediator. Borrowing from the President's remarks today, here's what such speech could look like. It would take a degree of courage we've yet to see from this President or any of his predecessors. 

Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job my efforts at peacemaking. We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the expressed purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals those who build illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory. And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this.  

Since Congress hasn’t confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be -- who has been acting and I will be nominating has expressed  reservations about Chuck Hagel because of his reluctance to serve every Likud whim and desire, they should put the interests of America and peace first and confirm him now that I've nominated him for the post.

And at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force re-prioritize their spending, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets stop sending several billion dollars each year to support Israel while it continues to violate international law. 

Now, let me be absolutely clear: Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms that the United States should be evenhanded in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen. long-standing relationships with pro-Israel Americans. There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in pro-Israel Americans who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or protection or collection American support for Israel. I also believe most gun owners pro-Israel Americans agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale human rights of Israelis are not mutually exclusive with the human rights of Palestinians. I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown conditioned its support for Israel on adherence to US policy and international law, Israeli settlement expansion would cease and the prospects of a genuine peace would increase. That’s what these reforms are designed to do. They’re commonsense measures. They have the support of the majority of the American people. 

And yet that doesn't mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement. If it were, we’d already have universal background checks sanctions in place. The  UN Security Council resolution 242 ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire enforced.

More of our fellow humans Americans might still be alive, Israelis and Palestinians alike, might still be alive celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. This will be difficult. There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical all- out assault on liberty, everything from anti-Semitism to Sharia-creep in the US government, not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves. 

And behind the scenes, they’ll do everything they can to block any commonsense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different, that this time we must do something to protect our communities and our kids  so Palestinian kids can live in dignity, free from Occupation.

I will put everything I’ve got into this -- and so will Joe -- but I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it. And by the way, that doesn't just mean from certain parts of the country. We’re going to need voices in those areas and those congressional districts where the tradition of gun ownership providing Israel with a blank check is strong to speak up and to say this is important. It can’t just be the usual suspects. We have to examine ourselves in our hearts, and ask yourselves what is important? This will not happen, unless the American people demand it. If parents and teachers, police officers, and pastors, if hunters and sportsman, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough. We've suffered supported too much pain, and care too much about our children to allow this to continue, then change will -- change will come. That’s what it’s going to take. You know, in the letter that Julia wrote me, she said “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.”  

Julia, I will try very hard. But she’s right. The most important changes we can make, depend on congressional action. They need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the American people need to make sure that they do. Get them on record. Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands conditioning aid to Israel until it adheres to International Law. Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines sanctioning Israel until it ends settlement expansion. And if they say no, ask them why not? Ask them what’s more important? Doing whatever it takes to get a -- an A grade from the gun Israel lobby that funds their campaigns? Or, giving parents some piece of mind when they drop their child off to first grade Palestinians a sense of hope that America will not continue to support their oppression?  

This is the land of the free, and it always will be. As Americans we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us. But we’ve also long recognized, as our founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities including the responsibility to ensure our policies and tax dollars are not denying these same unalienable rights to others. 

The reality is, it is probably 20 years too late for this type of speech anyway even though politicians 20 years ago had more guts on this issue than they have today. 

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