My father taught me to shoot guns, the Army taught me to use weapons, and now, my son and I enjoy target shooting. Although I like to shoot, I do not hunt. I don’t need the meat, and I personally do not enjoy killing animals for sport. My aversion to killing animals, however, should never limit the freedoms enjoyed by others. That is not how liberty works.

For instance, I think it is treasonous for Americans to burn and desecrate our flag. It offends me, yet, I accept it on the grounds that this is their right under the First Amendment. Limiting constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, in my mind, is a greater offense.

President Obama appears to have woken up on New Year’s Day only to realize his temporary occupancy of the White House is rapidly coming to an end. Therefore, his first act of 2016 was to pronounce new Executive Actions on what he terms “gun control.” The president’s press conference, although well-staged; turned into Kabuki Theater. I wonder if President Obama shed a tear for Border Agent Brian Terry when the “Fast and Furious” operation went awry. I bet Russia’s shirtless, gun toting, horseback riding President, Vladimir Putin has a new-found respect for our sobbing president. The fact that nothing the president announced prevents criminals and crazies from obtaining firearms, and that his directive has little impact on legal-gun owners is but an aside.

Background checks, loopholes and online sales matter, but the heart of the issue concerning gun ownership is adherence to national principle and proclaimed values.

Our Constitution and our Bill of Rights are statements of what our nation values and holds dear. No president should have, or attempt to have, influence over the interpretation and execution of these stated liberties and guaranteed freedoms. The oft cited argument that the “Congress will not act” or that the President is “tired of mass shootings” might be true, but it is not a valid argument to do anything concerning the Bill of Rights or any other amendment to the Constitution.

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