April 15, 2016: Del Rio News-Herald * OPINION * Letter to the Editor * Segment of talk show 'Walk the Talk'

Letter to the Editor,

Segment of talk show “Walk the Talk”

You’ve heard of the women from “The Talk”; well this is a segment from the women of “Walk the Talk”.

Christianna: Can you believe that the President has so far commuted the sentences of 248 federal prisoners? That’s more than the last six presidents combined: George W. Bush (11), Bill Clinton (61), George H. W. Bush (3), Ronald Reagan (13), Jimmy Carter (29), and Gerald Ford (22) which totals 139.

Mercy: The President has commuted the sentences of 33 criminals convicted of firearm-related offenses while simultaneously pushing for more gun control. These convictions include possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by a felon; and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Prudence: These commutations come during the time of the President’s newly proposed executive actions on restricting firearms. The President is sending a mixed message to Americans when he issues new executive actions in an attempt to change gun regulations one day, and then pardons criminals with gun-related convictions the next.

Justina: How can the President say he is “committed to using every tool at the Administration’s disposal to reduce gun violence” when he is not even following through with the sentences of criminals with firearm-related convictions?  With tears in his eyes he announced his intention to take executive action on gun control “to make sure that the wrong people don’t have them for the wrong reasons.”

Temperance: I think we all remember when the President made an emotional and impassioned plea about guns. He talked about the victims from Columbine to the streets of Chicago. He said he got mad when he thought about those kids. And then he began to cry when he talked about the slaughter at Sandy Hook.

Christianna: This reveals the huge hypocrisy between what he has said and what he has done. What he has said is that he wants “to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands to make sure that criminals, people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others are less likely to get them”. What he has done is release criminals convicted of firearm-related offenses. How can he possibly reconcile this?

Marian Casillas, Ed.D