Obama Signs Bill To Surround Himself With Men With Guns For Life At Taxpayer Expense
Barack Obama must have a death wish. Despite decrying the dangers of "assault weapons" and easy access to firearms, Obama has just signed a bill that will ensure he and his wife are surrounded by men with guns for the rest of their lives. The only logical conclusion is that Obama is selflessly putting himself at risk in order to exact revenge upon the scourge of our nation, former President George W. Bush, who is also covered by the bill.
Via CNN:
With the stroke of a pen Thursday, President Barack Obama gave himself and his wife Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.
The new law, which passed the House and Senate in December, designates that all former U.S. presidents who served after January 1, 1997, along with their spouses, receive protection from the Secret Service for their entire lifetimes – meaning former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura are also covered. The law also stipulates that children of presidents receive protection until the age of 16.
Lifetime government-provided security for former presidents was the law of the land until 1997, when Congress passed legislation limiting Secret Service protection to ten years after leaving office.
It's astounding that the same individuals pushing to limit the Second Amendment can—with a straight face—turn around and push through legislation granting the President a lifetime security detail on the taxpayers' dime. While I agree the President ought to retain some level of Secret Service Protection in the immediate wake of his departure from office, at some point, his security ought to be his own financial responsibility as is the case for every other American.
The law Clinton signed addressed this idea. It granted former Presidents Secret Service protection for 10 years, after which their security would become their own responsibility. Former President Bush would've been the first President to whom this law applied. However, his 10 years of taxpayer-funded protection had not yet expired prior to today's repeal of the Clinton policy.