General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI love and admire Prez Obama. I really don't care to see him with a gun . I just don't. I know...
Don't look.
But Prez Obama and a gun, at this point, just seems out of kilter. Anyone else feel a bit uncomfortable? I'm just so weary of the gun thing in general.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Target practice is fun, you should try it.
agracie
(950 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Are guns making you uncomfortable?
agracie
(950 posts)Uncomfortable ? Yes.
Weary? Yes. Yes. Yes.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Just like football does nothing for me. Or boating. In fact I'm scared of being on a boat even though I lived near water for most of my life. That being said, I'm not lobbying to ban boating. Or any other activity which may pose some sort of danger.
To each their own. And that I believe is valid for POTUS as well
BTW, I LOVE the photo! Cheers!
Mister Ed
(5,940 posts)I've seen photos of the Prez doing lots of things. Golfing, for example. I feel no more uncomfortable seeing him try to hit a clay Frisbee with lead pellets than I feel seeing him try to hit a recessed cup with a ball.
homerunner
(21 posts)They are unworthy of a response. You know who the "photo of the President shooting a gun" is good for? The NRA.
nick of time
(651 posts)I thought that he was president to ALL Americans. Guess I was wrong.
homerunner
(21 posts)It's stupid.
nick of time
(651 posts)so what? Millions of Americans do the same thing.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)he said yes that he liked to shoot skeet at camp david. the right wingers called him a liar so the wh released the photo.
that is why you would prove you shot a gun.
when saying yes, after being asked if you ever have and then being called a liar for it by your political enemies.
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)+10000
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)strong gun supporters.
Warpy
(111,270 posts)I was never any good at it because of my wretched eyesight.
I would have problems seeing him posing like a swaggering wingnut with the gun before or after a round of skeet shooting.
agracie
(950 posts)HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)because I feel he is doing and saying this ONLY to appease gun owners. You cannot appease them.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)agracie
(950 posts)sort of guy who would enjoy guns. But what do I know, eh ?
aikoaiko
(34,170 posts)Some do and some don't.
But I'd like to hear you describe that kind of guy.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)peace13
(11,076 posts)Where does it stop? It seems absurd . 'Mr. president the pink panty wearers called and they don't think you support them'.
Tikki
(14,557 posts)I would never think of trying skeet shooting but I might have tried parasailing.
Tikki
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)krispos42
(49,445 posts)...folding or telescoping buttstock, barrel shroud, or threaded barrel muzzle. It's even got a wooden stock instead of a black plastic one! Yay!
oldhippie
(3,249 posts).... the screw in choke in the upper barrel! From that single choke, muzzle elevation and stance, I think he is shooting trap, not skeet. I wonder if he knows the difference?
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)I've done one of them - not sure which it was at this point. I guess I thought they were the same.
oldhippie
(3,249 posts).... it better than I can, but basically in trap you shoot one bird at a time, always going away from you at contrained angles. In skeet you shoot both singles and doubles, with two targets crossing at varying angles and speeds. You have to shoot both very quickly. Different games and slightly different skills.
skeet vs trap
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)transcripts, bipartisanship, skeet shooting. I would love if he just sent a photo of him giving the middle finger.
agracie
(950 posts)JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)they keep asking him to "prove" himself. It's petty.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)STFU and go **** their greedy, selfish, egotistical little selves, because they are wasting our precious time with useless, ridiculous childish bullshit, and they really need to grow up and help the adults get some productive necessary things done.
Check it - Prez Obama and elected Democrats, instead of frequently kissing conservative ass, might want to consider adopting some of the approaches and policies of the most effective and *constructive* transformational Democratic POTUS in US history...Franklin D. Roosevelt:
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me and I welcome their hatred. FDR 1936
Oh, yeah, yeah, that's it, uh-huh.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)And now there is a picture of him doing so.
The reality is the reality. The deranged GOP was SURE it never happened. Now they are shown to be wrong. Good.
There is nothing wrong with hunting, nothing wrong with skeet shooting.
But Obama Derangement Syndrome should be identified and mocked when it occurs.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I just think of it as something you do on a Saturday.
wva moonshiner
(2 posts)dont feel uncomfortable, it is only a political stunt, to make the pro-gun peaple think he his not after there shoguns
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Never was, never will be. The "gun grab" nonsense is a hoax to trick gullible people.
agracie
(950 posts)JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)any gun control proposals.
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)Presidents who handle guns can do good things.
nick of time
(651 posts)And Eleanor Roosevelt was an avid pistol shooter and had a CCW permit.
bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)Same with the birth certificate.
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)It continues a disturbing trend of politicians posing with firearms. I don't know how firing a gun makes anyone more qualified for a job in elected office. It's no more complex than operating a light switch.
Shit, a chimp could do it.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Millions of Americans enjoy target shooting!! He likes skeet shooting, he said it before!
Omg this is too funny!!!
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)he does nothing but degrade himself. If he stated that he enjoys playing tennis, nobody would demand to see pictures of him serving a ball. As mentioned above, this is just another instance where he feels compelled to prove something to people who will never support him anyway.
He's the President, he doesn't need to dance on command.
Millions of Americans also like to choke themselves while they masturbate....
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)It shows POTUS doesn't have anything personal against firearms. This photo does more good then you can ever realize
homerunner
(21 posts)This conversation began with school children being violently gunned down. To release a photo like that cheapens the conversation in my opinion. And like I said, the people this is good for is the NRA.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Which he enjoys! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this pic! Or WH releasing it!
Omg lmao!!!
homerunner
(21 posts)Right now simply because he used it.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)I can't make out from the photo.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)That's a $3000 shotgun.
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)It shows he's nothing more than a pander-bear. Think Dukakis in the tank...
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Because he likes shooting skeet for fun?
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)It's okay, I know what you would say.
Never
BTW, I'm sorry I find this exchange funny, I just don't see why so many are bothered by a pic of POTUS skeet shooting. A LOT of people skeet shoot for fun! There are even clubs and competitions on skeet shooting! It's nothing bad or malicious ffs.
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)Would you want to see those photos?
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Comparing shooting skeet with the act mentioned above is a lil silly don't you think?
morningfog
(18,115 posts)Did the President claim to enjoy that and are their people out there denying that he actually does? And, is that discussion taking place in the shadow of masturbating strangulation legislation?
cali
(114,904 posts)Dukakis in the tank was.
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)I guess people who worship this guy will never find fault in anything he does.
morningfog
(18,115 posts)How can you say that people who don't see a problem with this photo worship the guy?
datasuspect
(26,591 posts)i immediately thought of phil gramm's television campaign ads where he was filmed shooting a gun and the many instances of saddam hussein shooting long rifles captured on film, photographs, sculpture, and public art.
i'm not comparing the president to those people, but his gun porn now stands in relation to other "leaders" or "politicians" who have stooped to this level in the past.
i don't understand why he would agree with the advice from handlers in this instance.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)It is actually fun, you know.
datasuspect
(26,591 posts)but i'm not the president.
this is marketing.
the picture was taken and distributed for a reason.
justanidea
(291 posts)I'd love to see you try shooting. Something tells me after doing so you would walk away realizing good marksmanship is a little more complex than flipping a light switch.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)malaise
(269,049 posts)Really stupid. Fugg the PR BS.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)especially after he said we must listen to the "other side", as if listening to them for decades hasn't been the fucking problem
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)agracie
(950 posts)He was the voice of reason and compassion. To me it doesn't matter WHEN or WHY the photo was taken. I just don't think I needed to see it . It's hard to explain...
NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)This photo was taken well before Sandy Hook and the present debate.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)To make his detractors look like complete idiots. Not that Blackburn needs help in that matter. I'd say she's dumber than a jar of mayonnaise, but that's unfair to mayonnaise.
"If he is a skeet shooter, why have we not heard of this? Why have we not seen photos? Why hasn't he referenced this at any point in time?" Blackburn said"
Skittles
(153,169 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)Skittles
(153,169 posts)I'm simply opining I think this skeet shooting picture is OUT OF CHARACTER
NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)Sure, he could have staged the photo last summer for use in a situation like this, with training on stance and such to make it look correct and then made up skeet shooting with friends, many of whom could blow the thing wide open if they stated otherwise, thereby creating yet another fake scandal that will tie up the House for months,
or
Like many politicians including a lot of prominent Democrats, he got into skeet shooting with them
I'll take the Occam's Razor approach.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)got it
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)It is an old picture and given that he seems to like a myriad of sports it feels to me like it is in character.
MadHound
(34,179 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)JFK, Gore Vidal, and Tennessee Williams.. what a group!
Teddy rocking the fringe!
But, of course, nothing compares to
DeschutesRiver
(2,354 posts)for those who steadfastly maintain that anyone who even touches a gun, more less owns some, or fires any weapon is without exception a man with a small penis who is overcompensating for his insecurities and cowardliness, is dangerous to the rest of us and must automatically - by virtue of being said gun nut - be removed from society.
Eleanor is not a Delicate Flower, because women don't have the requisite small penis that must be compensated for by using a weapon to make one all manly, instead of girly. So she wasn't a gun nut and seeing her use a weapon probably doesn't make anyone uncomfortable.
apocalypsehow
(12,751 posts)Picture #1:
That is a sporting shotgun, like the type used to bird hunt or trap and skeet shoot. No one is talking about banning such firearms. Nor should they be banned.
Picture #2:
Your entire OP is an exercise in dishonesty, but this is probably the most egregious example of it: Clinton was holding that rifle not to promote it's sale or use by the public-at-large, but just the opposite.
Picture #3:
Again, break-over shotguns being used on some kind of bird hunting trip. See #1 above.
Picture #4:
Really?
A soldier showing his Commander-in-chief his combat rifle in the middle of frickin' WWII (or on the eve of it) is some kind of "pro-gun" statement by FDR? Like I said: this reply is dishonest from stem-to-stern.
*( )
MadHound
(34,179 posts)The OP stated that they were uncomfortable with a picture of the current president handling a shotgun. I provided pictures of other presidents, and one presidential candidate, handling firearms in order to make the point that such pictures are pretty much standard fare for most presidents. Just a couple of posts above, number 95, are more pictures in a similar vein.
The fact is, pictures of presidents with guns has become an unspoken tradition. That is the point I was making.
I don't know what point you thought I was making, but apparently it is not the same one I had in mind. Next time, before going off half cocked, ask some questions, do a modicum of thinking, then perhaps you can get the actual point of a post.
Paladin
(28,264 posts)And DU Gun Enthusiasts are now criticizing Obama for his shooting stance, the timing of releasing the photo, etc. There is no pleasing these people, and very little little effort should be made to do so.....
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)To answer to those who would love us to believe that every gun in this country is going to be taken away is important. And so, he did. I rarely look at or like the posed photographs of the President. This one, I did. And I like it.
(for the record, I would have no problem if every gun in this country was taken away)
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)are far beyond any rational persuasion. They believe what they want to believe, and no photo op will change their deeply held false beliefs.
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)I'm not going to get upset over it.
Moses2SandyKoufax
(1,290 posts)the President only legitimizes their beliefs. You can only go so far in accommodating the RW crazies in our society. Ignoring them will work to further marginalize them.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)got it
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)We are guilty of the same paranoia when a pub is in office.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)Skittles
(153,169 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)MadHound
(34,179 posts)Kimberly Rhode, first woman to take an individual shooting gold medal in the Olympics.
Is she just "punching her mancard"
obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)agracie
(950 posts)PUNCHED ! Just sayin'...
Crepuscular
(1,057 posts)I guess that's what Gov. Richards was doing here, just punching her ...em,... er..mancard?
[IMG][/IMG]
(and using one of those scary semi-automatic assault shotguns too!)
obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)but not with an ooooozie or anything like that.
trishtrash
(74 posts)Obama is separating himself from the assault rifle paranoid gang with the cold dead fingers and letting the sports, hunting gun owners know he is with them. Once again he has trumped the right wingers. May help some of the repubs come on board.
MotherPetrie
(3,145 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)I'd be a bit more concerned that there is so much pressure from the gun nutters that he feels he has to do this. But it IS his right as an American.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)There is something to it, the way it feels. But I knew immediately, just as when I intentionally tried to start smoking, that the feeling it's not a thing to give into.
When I reached for a cigarette without really thinking, my mind said 'this is how addictions begin - this is mindlessness.' I 'quit' on my third cigarette.
I feel that commercialization of guns is partly to blame, as if they are any other consumer purchase, the way that cars were once presented. All the glamor, the beauty of the gleaming metal, the idea that having such a thing means one has 'made it' or is a success in society.
That's how many things are treated. But guns shouldn't be in that class. The sort of person who hunts for food, or uses them to protect livestock in extreme situations, not because they hate wildlife, is not the ones I'm talking about.
When you see wacky photos like we had here on the site a while back, of people getting pictures made with Santa, or the whole family grinning ear to ear while brandishing their hardware, there is something wrong about that, IMHO.
Obama was not doing that.
randome
(34,845 posts)But I'm not always sure about his choice of weapon.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)and the gun he was using a perfect example of a non-military, low capacity (holds only two shots) firearm it is reasonable for private (non-mentally ill, non-felon, etc) citizens to own. so there is nothing "out of kilter" about skeet shooting or owning a bird gun.
specifically, the president was asked in an interview if he had ever fired a gun. he said yes and expanded to say he enjoyed skeet shooting at camp david from time to time. so there is nothing "out of kilter" with this president shooting a bird gun. so right on que the right wingers went bug fuck and accused him of lying.
so the photo was released.
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)hate driven people mass killing innocents in movie theaters, shopping malls or schools.
Cha
(297,291 posts)having one. But, President Obama is a responsible person and I don't mind him shooting skeet and making a point that he's not going to take away guns from other responsible people. Just the freaking Assault Weapons.
Like Stallone says..
Its unbelievably horrible, whats happened. I think the biggest problem, seriously, is not so much guns. Its that every one of these people that have done these things in the past 30 years are friggin crazy. Really crazy! And thats where weve dropped the ball: mental health, he said. That to me is our biggest problem in the future, is insanity coupled with isolation.
nolabear
(41,986 posts)I don't think of him as a gun person. Just don't. As you said, it has an out of kilter feel. And it does seem like an uncomfortable ploy to look "regular" to the gun enthusiasts. But as I said. I hate the damned things.
obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)I know the reddest of redneck who don;t own gins and never would, although many people (including DUers) seem to think every good ole boy and good ole girl have gun racks in their pickups, and a .38 strapped around their waist.
Conversely, lots of over-educated lefties are gun owners. *raises hand*
nolabear
(41,986 posts)But even without that charming element in my childhood I have a completely irrational spot in my brain that doesn't even like fake ones.
obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)And, there's nothing wrong with skeet or target shooting -- both are fun and challenging.
There's a reason why Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley were so popular, in both NES and arcade.
bama_blue_dot
(224 posts)will enrage the right even more.. They probably can't stand the sight of POTUS holding one of their "beloved guns", so I honestly think he released it just to mess with them..
union_maid
(3,502 posts)The Skeet truthers should be expending some energy soon trying to declare the photo a fake. Just because. Gives them something to do and us something to laugh about. I see this as a win/win.
MotherPetrie
(3,145 posts)Autumn
(45,106 posts)go figure.
gateley
(62,683 posts)try skeet shooting. I think it would be fun, and I sure don't begrudge Obama engaging in the sport. At least he's not aiming at a target with the silhouette of a man on it!
markpkessinger
(8,401 posts). . . and a rather craven political ploy. He's better than that.
agracie
(950 posts)Seeking Serenity
(2,840 posts)I'm shocked!
Jennicut
(25,415 posts)It was a hobby for her. It is not like worshiping guns and keeping a giant stockpile and being a gun nut. It's a simple shotgun.