Thirty thousand. Suicides, domestic violence, gang shootouts, accidents.
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“That’s why we’re here, not to do something about the last mass shooting, but to prevent the next one”, he said.
At one point the President became tearful when talking about the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school. “I had no experience with guns”, Randy Hare, of West Carrollton, said, also noting it’s easier to get a firearm then an exotic animal, which is an illegal OH possession. The White House also called for 200 new federal agents to enforce the nation’s gun laws and for $500 million in new investment in mental health programs, which would require congressional approval.
“Too many communities across the country are still suffering from the heartbreaking consequences of a gun in the wrong hands”. “If we have more violence and more shootings, it’s going to put him in a little bit of a bind”. “Sympathy is not enough to stop gun violence. The hard core gun activists will say that you don’t want to give them an inch because they will take a mile possibly”, Benoit said.
In remarks from the White House set for 11:40 a.m., Obama will discuss his executive action.
“Background checks at gun shows are already being done, I know this because I’ve bought them”.
The president also called for the hiring of more than 230 additional examiners and other staff to process the millions of background checks received annually.
Link here for a more detailed narrative on the President’s plan. “Congress still needs to act”. But the overall effect on violence in the USA could prove to be modest.
Mr Obama unveiled executive actions that will extend background checks, including tougher rules for purchases at gun shows and on the Internet. “Unfortunately, the President’s own party blocked these real common sense measures from moving forward in the Senate”, Boozman said in a statement.
Republican candidate Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that the executive actions are unconstitutional, with a link to sign up for his campaign correspondence on a webpage that says “Obama wants your guns” with a photo of the president in an army jacket and hat.
He said: “I believe in the Second Amendment, there written on paper, that guarantees the right to bear arms”.
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, said his concern is about protecting constitutional principles. “Instead of focusing on the root of the problem, the President is focusing on limiting the rights of law-abiding citizens”. “It won’t happen during this Congress. It won’t happen during my presidency”. Any change for the better is welcome, and that applies to the president’s decision to “clarify” that some gun sellers calling themselves “hobbyists” – whose buyers are therefore exempt from criminal background checks – may, in fact, be in the business of selling those weapons, a different category.
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Among those flanking Obama during his speech were the parents and loved ones of those lost to gun violence, including Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, the mother of Hadiyah Pendleton, a 15-year-old who was shot and killed in a Chicago park just weeks after marching in Obama’s second inauguration parade. However, license requirements for vendors will change in the future with the executive order.
