Amid gun control debate, does 'skeet-gate' matter?
Obama's comment about going skeet shooting 'all the time' at Camp David raised eyebrows and sent many reporters on a hunt for evidence. Does the president's personal experience with guns matter to the gun control debate?
President Obama is pictured as he meets with police chiefs from three US communities scarred by mass shootings last year to talk about the administration's push to reduce gun violence, at the White House in Washington, Monday. Obama's statement in a recent interview that 'we do skeet shooting all the time' at Camp David, raised eyebrows amid gun control debate.
Jason Reed/Reuters
As Washington engages in a fierce debate over gun control, does it matter whether President Obama has personally ever shot a gun? Would it change things to learn that he'd fired a weapon a total of five times in his life? Or 50? Or 500?
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Liz Marlantes covers politics for the Monitor and is a regular contributor to the Monitor's political blog, DC Decoder.
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We ask this, of course, because of the ongoing minicontroversy over Mr. Obama's statement in a recent interview with The New Republic that "we do skeet shooting all the time" at Camp David.
It may have seemed at the time like a casual, offhand remark – Obama certainly didn't claim he's a hunter or a real gun enthusiast (though he made clear he has great respect for those who are). But it was immediately challenged by many who smelled, if not an outright falsehood, then a likely exaggeration.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) of Tennessee challenged the president to a skeet-shooting contest. Reporters pressed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney for details of the president's adventures in skeet shooting – or better yet, a photograph of Obama engaged in said activity – to no avail. The New Republic briefly posted what it believed was an official photo of Obama wielding a gun at Camp David, but that turned out to be an Internet hoax.
The Washington Post's Fact Checker even weighed in, saying "we searched high and low through hundreds of news reports to see if there was ever any other mention of Obama engaged in skeet shooting," but reported being unable to find a single one. It gave the matter a "verdict pending" ruling.
Eventually, Fox News tracked down one Camp David visitor who said they had, in fact, witnessed the president skeet shooting "a couple times" at most, during a traditional competition with Marine guards. The source added: "He stayed for about five minutes and couldn't leave fast enough."
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