What Is To Be Gun?

President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Earlier in the day, WCHL’s Aaron Keck was joined on air by Orange County Republican Ashley DeSena…but rather than trying to dissect a speech they hadn’t heard yet, they discussed the President’s most recent major address, last week’s speech announcing new executive actions on guns. (Obama’s 10-point plan includes expanded background checks, more funding for mental health care, the hiring of more law enforcement to help enforce existing laws, and – to reduce the risk of accidental shootings – federal research into “smart gun” technology.)

Listen to their conversation. (Both generally agree with the basic outline of the plan, though DeSena expresses concern over some vaguely defined provisions and Keck notes that the US crime rate is already historically low.)

 

Gun control wasn’t a major issue in President Obama’s State of the Union, as it turned out, but it’s still on a lot of people’s minds. A recent Public Policy Polling survey found that 20 percent of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire say they believe the president is “going to take all Americans’ guns away during his final year in office.” (The same survey, incidentally, found Donald Trump with a 14-point lead in the GOP presidential race in New Hampshire – and on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton with a three-point lead over Bernie Sanders.)

Last week, Aaron Keck discussed the New Hampshire poll with PPP director Tom Jensen.