Obama Faces Tough Sell With Sheriffs on Gun Control

Photo Credit: Washington ExamerPresident Obama will travel to Minnesota on Monday with hopes of building support in the law enforcement community for his set of gun control initiatives.

However, public safety officials outside urban pockets are increasingly hostile toward a sweeping set of proposals they say would do nothing to curtail violence.

As the details of Obama’s gun plan emerged — a ban on assault weapons, a prohibition on high-capacity ammunition clips and universal background checks — urban law enforcement officials were among the most vocal proponents of the blueprint. However, over time, police officials in suburban and rural areas have expressed misgivings, with some becoming outspoken critics of the president’s ideas.

That cultural gap has remained, and some analysts said it has become imperative for Obama to at least partially bridge it. ,/p>

“It’s essential for advocates of gun control to have the support of the law enforcement community,” said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of the book “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” “Americans are willing to give so much deference to first responders, but the problem is that many in law enforcement don’t think the president’s ideas are aimed at crime.”

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