I am not an Obama fan, but I did hear part of the news conference yesterday. These commutations are generally for cases where sentencing guidelines today have been modified relative to when those receiving commutations were sentenced, in many cases drastically downward. So 20 years ago, someone got a 40 year sentence for something that would only get 20 years today. Since that time, they've been good inmates who improved their lot in life (e.g., got a GED, training, etc.). These commutations are "setting the record right", which seems reasonable to me.
The commutations which included gun charges were being made for someone who might have had a gun on their person when arrested, but not for anyone who used the gun in the course of the crime they were arrested for (or in connection with other crimes that might have been known).
Of all the reasons, I might not be happy with him, this is not one of them.
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