Former first lady Michelle Obama recently sat down for an interview with her personal friend Gayle King of CBS News to promote a new book and discuss a range of other topics.
One of those topics was a spate of recent shootings across the country that have garnered widespread media coverage, and Obama unsurprisingly called for stricter gun control laws to address the supposed "unfettered access" that Americans have to firearms, Breitbart reported.
Her proposed solution appeared to be to convince greater numbers of Americans to vote in favor of Democratic politicians who would work to impose more gun control laws on the American people.
According to The Hill, King made a reference to some of the recent high-profile shootings, including mass shootings but also individuals in particular circumstances, and said to Obama, "Do you think we could ever figure out a way to reconcile gun violence in this country? Because it does keep me up."
The former first lady replied, "I hope and pray that at some point 'enough becomes enough.'"
When asked when that "point" might be, Obama referenced her husband Barack's time in the White House and said, "We wondered that throughout our entire presidency, thinking that -- 'this time.'"
That led King to recall the 2012 mass shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut and how the former president had said that tragic incident "was one of the worst days of his presidency, and we still didn’t get that message."
The former first lady said in response, "We are the only developed country on the planet where its citizens can have unfettered access to firearms. That is not a good thing."
"More of us have to feel strongly about it, and particularly our young people," she continued. "This is where democracy comes in. Voting -- this, all of this stuff is decided in the ballot box."
Later, in reference to the Supreme Court rulings in 2022 on gun rights and abortion, Obama said she wasn't "surprised" by the decisions and added, "Now the problem is that our young people have to understand that just because an issue doesn’t affect you today doesn’t mean it’s not going to matter in five or ten years. Voting matters, that’s all I can say."
Recent shootings and the battle over abortion access have put the country under high stress. With many looking for answers, @MichelleObama tells @GayleKing, “Voting matters.” pic.twitter.com/TdlA4fWe59
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 20, 2023
To be sure, Michelle Obama is entitled to her opinion, and if she truly believes that the access Americans have to firearms is "not a good thing" and more limits should be imposed, well, again, that is her opinion.
That said, the notion that Americans enjoy "unfettered access" to firearms is patently absurd, as there are myriad federal and state laws that strictly limit who is allowed to purchase or possess guns and what sort of firearms are generally available for purchase and possession by the American people.
Of course, in the view of some Americans, particularly those who staunchly support the Second Amendment and fervently believe its admonition against the government that the "right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed," access to firearms should indeed be "unfettered" by federal and state gun control laws, regardless of how many voters and politicians may disagree.
