In addition to pointing out Obama’s actions would not have stopped those killings, Gottlieb said if Obama were serious about stopping gun violence, he would sue cities like Chicago and Washington for laws that prevent people from defending themselves due to strict gun control.
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The president struck a combative tone as he came out with plans for expanded background checks and other modest measures that have drawn consternation from gun rights groups, which Obama accused of making Congress their hostage.
According to reports, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has also said said that, if elected, he would reverse the measures.
Obama has often said his toughest time in office was grappling with the December 2012 massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The White House said it planned to ask Congress for $500 million to improve mental health care. “But we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency”. He will also hire more personnel to process background checks, direct officials to conduct more gun research, encourage more domestic violence prosecutions and order better tracking of lost guns, officials said.
Obama’s remarks and recourse to controversial executive actions during an election year ensure that gun control will feature prominently in the 2016 race for the White House.
“If we can set it up so that you can’t unlock a phone unless you’ve got the right fingerprint, why can’t we do the same thing for our guns?” Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association and has loudly proclaimed his support for the Second Amendment.
Today, background checks are required at gun stores.
Earlier, the president announced the law change at the White House, while surrounded by survivors and relatives of victims of shootings. Their guns have not been confiscated, their rights have not been infringed.
MICHAEL VINCENT: Gun violence in the United States kills about 30,000 people a year.
“Congress is focused on keeping our families and communities safe, and we will consider all necessary actions to protect every law-abiding citizen’s constitutional rights”, Bishop said.
“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad”, Obama said, tears rolling down his cheek. The smart goal is to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not legally be allowed to own them.
Still others argue that reactions to the tears ignore the real issue – Obama’s actions on gun control. As this article notes, the firearms industry is booming (pardon my phraseology), largely because of the president’s anti-gun rhetoric.
Aiming to narrow that loophole, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is issuing updated guidance that says the government should deem anyone “in the business” of selling guns to be a dealer, regardless of where he or she sells the guns.
The efforts are an attempt to sidestep Congress on an issue that has become increasingly divisive politically. The new standard Obama will apply means that some of these sales would now be by people considered to be “engaging in the business” of selling guns, who would now have to do background checks.
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He says in the last two months his gun sales have doubled.
