BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama and Democrat cronies are packing tonight's State of the Union address in the House Chambers with crime victims in an attempt to push the administration's gun ban agenda, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Press reports say Democrat House members have provided tickets to the annual event to victims of gun-related violent crime.

"President Obama has been claiming to want a balanced approach to solving the nation's gun violence problem," noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "If that was true, he would have invited people who have defended themselves with firearms to be in the audience tonight as well. Instead, anti-gun Democrats are packing the House.

"When the president uses words like 'balance,' 'safety' and 'common sense,'" he continued, "it's just a charade."

Gottlieb said the sham is amplified by the results of a survey taken by Quinnipiac University which show that only 15 percent of Americans consider the nation's gun policies to be a top priority. That survey polled 1,772 registered voters, according to Reuters, and has a margin of error of 2.3 percent.

The poll found that 53 percent of voters believe the economy is still in recession, and 35 percent say the economy is their top concern. Less than half (47 percent) of the respondents believe the president can handle the economy, while slightly more people trust Republicans to cut federal spending while only 39 percent believe Democrats can do it.

"The president's policies are clearly in trouble," Gottlieb said, "and he's using tonight's State of the Union address to grandstand for gun control while it is clear to a majority of Americans that the stagnating economy is far more important.

"Banning guns is a priority for the president but not the people," he concluded.

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

SOURCE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms