Chuck Norris is the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month for May.
In nominating the celebrity for the award, John M. Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, indicated reasons for selecting Norris.
“Chuck has distinguished himself in a variety of fields,” said Snyder. “He has become a stalwart and incisive defender of the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms in print and electronic media. He is an articulate and popular proponent of gun rights. He surely deserves a CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award.”
In a recent column, Chuck Norris wrote, “I am a strong Second Amendment advocate. I believe in protecting our fundamental rights, including our Second Amendment rights, through the political process.”
In trying to operate through that political process, Norris issued a warning. He warned that now, “Obama Triangulates on Gun Control.”
In elucidating his meaning, Norris noted that, “The 2012 election now looms large for this administration. Even while the president’s top aides are deserting the White House to staff up his campaign office, those left behind seem to be working from a mandate to begin patrolling the divided Democratic base.
“Up until now, the Obama White House had given a wide berth to the gun control debate, abandoning campaign promises to pursue new restrictions on gun rights. This avoidance does not reflect any shift in position; it is merely recognition of the political reality that most members of his party have no interest in having yet another political loser of an issue crammed down their throats.”
This situation is undergoing a change, Norris thinks. “Those in Obama’s liberal base have grown restless and rancorous over his first two years in office because he hasn’t done everything they’ve wanted, at least regarding more restrictions on our Second Amendment rights. They resent the president’s avoidance of fulfilling his campaign rhetoric.
“Gun control groups have thrown tantrums for months that Obama wouldn’t champion their agenda, with one group resentfully awarding him an F. So only now is Obama sticking his toes into the swirling currents of the Second Amendment debate.”
Norris noted the Obama “campaign kicked off in the Arizona Daily Star, with a subtle op-ed that was intentionally vague. The words could be read as a broad endorsement of proposed gun control measures; they also could be read as embracing the mantra that enforcement of current laws is what’s needed. But Obama’s attempt to place himself at the center of an ideological divide over guns is pure political positioning, and it comes with the rank odor of cold, crass calculation. One can almost hear the tearing of another page from the Clinton playbook.
“One thing he definitely got wrong, however, was his arrogant statement that he had ‘expanded’ the rights of gun owners. The Bill of Rights is guaranteed and can’t be ‘expanded’ by government, as it contains fundamental natural rights. Those rights can, however, be restricted by illegitimate government fiat, which is why the clear language of the Second Amendment prohibits even ‘infringement’ upon it. But infringement is clearly on the agenda, despite Obama’s rhetorical vacillations.”
Chuck Norris felt that intended future Obama infringement was evident. He wrote, “Implementation of the goals set forth in his article came via phone calls from Justice Department operatives seeking to arrange a series of ‘active listening’ meetings for groups on both sides of the gun control debate, as well as industry companies and groups. The proposed meetings were intended to develop an agenda of new legislative and regulatory proposals for the White House to embrace and push in Congress.”
Norris has starred in more than 20 major motion pictures. His television series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which completed its run 10 years ago after eight full seasons, was the most successful Saturday night series on CBS since “Gunsmoke.”
He starred in such films as “Delta Force” and “Missing in Action.”
He is a New York Times best-selling author of two books, including the 2004 autobiographical “Against All Odds.”
Chuck Norris first made his mark as a renowned teacher of martial arts. He was a six-times undefeated world middleweight karate champion. He is the first man from the Western Hemisphere in the more than 4,500-year tradition of tae kwon do to be awarded an eighth-degree black belt grand master ranking.
He thinks “our Founders ratified a Second Amendment as a right and defense for all Americans.”