He urged Congress and the country to tackle gun violence with more urgency and common sense.
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Thus, it comes as no surprise that President Obama’s announcement of executive actions to clarify and enhance federal gun laws prompted reflexive, hyperbolic responses from the right.
An emotional Obama wiped tears away from his eye as he recalled the 20 first-graders killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad”, Obama said.
At one point, the president appeared overwhelmed, as he listed some of the mass shootings that had taken place in America. A woman’s right to vote didn’t happen overnight.
While there’s controversy over the way Obama is going about it, there’s broad agreement on the substance of his action, according to national polls.
Republican contenders promise that if they get elected, they’ll swiftly repeal Obama’s actions, which include steps to expand background checks for gun purchases.
The executive actions – first previewed by the White House on Monday – would attempt to clamp down on unlicensed gun sellers who exploit an exception for hobbyists and collectors in order to avoid having to run criminal background checks on gun purchasers.
The keystone of the proposals is a clarification of current law – not a change – that focuses on transactions by those who are “engaged in the business” of gun sales online or at gun shows.
Rubio’s campaign also announced a new television ad , which will air in early primary states, that contends Obama released unsafe terrorists from Guantanamo, while “unconstitutionally taking away Americans’ guns”. “We still do background checks no matter where we’re at”, Boerio said. And his latest message was the same as it has been in the aftermath of numerous mass shootings: a plea for action to enact universal background checks and overhaul gun laws. But Obama defiantly rejected that critique, dismissing it as the exhausted trope of gun lobbyists who question “why bother trying?” “We maybe can’t save everybody, but we could save some”.
Hoping to give the issue a human face, the White House assembled a cross-section of Americans affected by searing recent gun tragedies, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
“The proposed executive actions are ripe for abuse by the Obama Administration, which has made no secret of its contempt for the Second Amendment”, they concluded”. Ten separate actions are expected, including one particularly controversial move to require more gun sellers to conduct background checks on potential buyers.
The FBI hiring more than 200 new examiners to help process background checks.
”While we can all agree we want to keep our communities safe from terrorism and gun violence, today’s orders from the President, which he’s unilaterally forcing on the American people, would do little to improve our safety”, McSally said.
But the law does not require a dealer’s license for private hobbyists and others who occasionally buy and sell guns for the goal of enhancing or liquidating a collection.
Obama cited ex-Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as well as Sen.
On the other hand, both 2016 Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders praised the president’s plans.
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As Obama delivered a powerful address in the White House, surrounded by family members of people killed in shootings, his voice rose to a yell as he said the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms needed to be balanced by the right to worship, gather peacefully and live their lives.
