When Obama is the reasonable one

So in an interview about gun control, President Obama said that gun control advocates need to listen more.  Here's a snip:

Obama says he has "a profound respect" for the tradition of hunting that dates back for generations. "And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake. Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas," he says.

How about that?  I know he's narrowed it to hunting only, but still. It's sure not been the case since Sandy Hook.  Almost immediate following that horrible day, you could see a profound disrespect for gun owners, no matter what anyone was saying.  Some came out and said it of course.  Gun owners are evil scum, screw them.

Others were more elusive  insisting they were saying no such thing while more or less saying just that when the opportunity arose.  Point out that measures could hinder 2nd Amendment rights, inconvenience gun owners, harm gun owners?  Who cares, the hell with them, that's their problem.  I'll give credit to those who came out and said guns and gun owners were evil and needed eradicated from our national fabric.  At least they were honest.

And in this case, so is President Obama.  While the pendulum has definitely swung in favor of sweeping gun control measures, even he is clever, wise, or simply good enough to realize there is a limit.  Something it would be nice to see as the debate continues to take place, even in the Catholic blogosphere, as another Catholic commenter noticed regarding the tenor of the conversation:

Or, maybe after several weeks of being demonized with comparisons to Nazis, slave owners, segregationists, or flat-out being called un-Catholic nutty survivalists or “Moral Escapists” (hey, new one!) by their brothers and sisters, they’re a little sensitive right now. It’s especially trying when the invective comes from people who are talking out their asses, but feel the need to exert Absolute Moral Authority anyway.

And sad to say, at least in some quarters and forums, that's exactly what's being said, or at least inferred.  And in some cases, long before Newtown.