5 outraged reactions to Obama's gun proposals

Most gun-rights activists met President Obama's executive actions on gun violence with a yawn. Others, not so much

"Let us return to our places of worship and pray for help," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry in response to Obama's gun control initiative.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, President Obama unveiled his proposals to reduce gun violence in an emotional address before a group of children who'd written him letters after the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings, urging him to beef up gun-control laws. There's considerable doubt about the political viability of Obama's big measures, like a new ban on assault rifles, which require congressional action. But he also laid out 23 actions he can take without Congress. And despite heated fears that Obama might try to seize weapons from lawful gun owners, his executive memos and decrees were "so modest" they caused "little more than a fizzle among gun advocates," says Josh Gerstein at Politico. Even the NRA, which hours earlier had enraged the White House by releasing an ad using Obama's daughters to make its point, issued a relatively mild response. But not every gun-rights supporter was so blasé about Obama's words and actions. Here, five people who found the president's big unveil outrageous, or worse:

1. Gov. Rick Perry: Obama's disgusting proposals won't work; prayer will

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.