Leon Panetta doesn’t think you should be able to own ‘assault weapons,’ whatever they are. This should surprise exactly nobody, considering that Panetta was President Clinton’s chief of staff when the original AWB was passed in 1994. But why is he using his position as Secretary of Defense as a bully pulpit to indoctrinate U.S. troops about the 2nd Amendment?
Speaking to U.S. troops at a base in Italy, the SecDef pontificated “I’ve been duck hunting since I was 10-years-old. I love to hunt and I love to be able to share that joy with my kids. But for the life of me, I don’t know why the hell people have to have an assault weapon.”
Forget the fact that the 2nd Amendment has sweet f***-all to do with duck hunting. Forget the fact that the term ‘assault weapon’ can mean just about anything that an opportunistic gun-grabber wants it to mean, including 120+ year old cowboy carbines.
What really concerns me is that the Executive Branch, speaking through an unelected Cabinet member, is starting to define the meaning of the United States Constitution for our armed forces. Don’t forget that those armed forces take their orders from the Commander-In-Chief, who coincidentally happens to be the head of the Executive Branch.
What are the chances that Panetta went off the reservation and spoke without authorization from the White House? Zero. What are the chances that this is part of the Obama Administration’s multi-front campaign to redefine the 2nd Amendment without having to amend it through the Constitutionally-prescribed process?
You make the call.