Historic Obama First: Marines in inaugural parade had bolts removed from their rifles

Via Bob Owens blog I saw this post from The Examiner called Disabled Marine rifles at inauguration signal shift in administration policy (wwith Photos and background):

...“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed...

...The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show accompanying this article.

This prompted an internet search to see if others had also noticed, and the Blur-Brain blog had.

“The bolts have been removed from the rifles rendering them unable to fire a round,” the post stated. “Apparently Obama’s Secret Service doesn’t trust the USMC. Simply searching each guy to make sure he didn’t have a live round hidden on him wasn’t enough, they had to make sure the guns were inoperable.

Wondering if this may be an inauguration policy of long standing that transcends administrations, Gun Rights Examiner made a cursory search and found something even more curious. In the 2009 Inaugural Parade, the United States Navy marched with rifles that had not been so disabled (see 1:24 into that video plus the final slide).

This raises the question of why the administration felt it necessary to make this change now...

...The rifles are NOT being carried in bolt open position. The bolts have been removed. You can tell because the operating rods are in the forward position.

The rifles in the 2009 inaugural, as shown in the last slide show photo, did not have the bolts removed.

The issue of parade rifles carried by honor guards being disabled in a different fashion under previous administrations, such as having their firing pins removed, is not being argued here, although it should be—not that it didn't happen, but that it does. But that’s not the thrust of this article. Here’s what is:

Unlike in 2009, in the 2013 inaugural parade, someone in authority made the decision to change that and order the Marines to march with visibly disabled guns...

President Obama has so little regard for the United States Marines risking their lives under his command life that they were forced to dismantle their already empty parade rifles for his second inauguration parade. He is the commander in chief of the military, thus he is responsible for all military actions, so he is responsible for the dishonor inflicted on these troops.