Why does the president get assault rifles to protect his family but civilians who pay his wages do not?

Answer 1

This is the argument made by the National Rifle Association, in a very controversial ad that even many NRA members thought was unfair. For many decades, the president (and this applies to ALL presidents) has received protection because he is the leader of our country. His family receives that protection too. There is no evidence President Obama is protected by "assault rifles" by the way. The secret service uses a variety of methods to protect our leaders and to keep their families safe from those who would harm them. Further, there is no evidence that this is an unfair use of taxpayer funds when presidents have received this protection for a very long time.

Meanwhile, the issue should not be whether the president's kids ought to be protected-- historically, they have received this protection because of what they represent and the threats that might come their way. The real issue is what sorts of policies would prevent school violence. Whether having guards with "assault rifles" or other weapons in the schools is a good way to protect kids can be debated. But whether we should protect our president and his family has never been the subject of a debate until the NRA's leadership decided to make it one.