Obama Calls For Sweeping Gun Laws: What's Your Take?
President Obama said the laws, including universal background checks and a renewed ban on assault rifles, would lead to "fewer atrocities like the one that happened in Newtown."
Alongside Vice President Joe Biden and a group of children who had written in support, President Barack Obama signed a proposal to Congress on Wednesday to strengthen United States gun laws. These included universal background checks, limiting the number of bullets in a clip and renewing a ban on military-grade assault rifles.
"If America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown," Obama said.
He listed some specific measures, including a 10-round limit on magazines for firearms, and asked Congress to confirm Todd Jones to fill the long-dormant role of chief for the Bureau of Alchol, Tobacco and Firearms — and briefly mentioned other measures, including helping schools hire more resource officers and making sure mental health professionals have the tools they need. He suggested Congress should fund research into the link between gun violence and violent video games.
Assault rifle bans and universal background checks made up the core of his proposal. A full list of the proposals was published by CNN and can be viewed here.
The advocacy group Sandy Hook Promise issued a statement applauding the president's approach. As it has said before, though, including at its press conference Monday, change can't stop at new legislation. The statement came from one of the group's co-founder, Tim Makris, a Sandy Hook Elementary School parent.
However, not everybody was supportive of the measures, with the conservative group FreedomWatch announcing it is suing the White House task force that led to the gun control proposals offered by the president. The suit alleges the White House group conducted illegal meetings with lobbyists without the required public notice. The suit was filed in Florida federal court seeking to eliminate the task force and prevent any of its proposals from becoming law, The Hill reports.
Others were critical of the president using children as "props," drawing comparisons to the children Hitler surrounded himself with when attempting to sway public opinion. Although the National Rifle Association released a controversial ad asking why the president's children should get armed security while others had to be schooled in "gun free" zones, the organization took a softer tone in a statement released following the president's press conference. The full statement by the NRA released Wednesday reads:
Throughout its history, the National Rifle Association has led efforts to promote safety and responsible gun ownership. Keeping our children and society safe remains our top priority.
The NRA will continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset – our children.
Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.
What is your opinion of the president's proposals? A step in the right direction to fix the problems of gun violence in our country? Or way too far — an overstep of his authority?
JSR
5:01 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
See Peggy Noonans article in the WSJ today. What about Hollywood and the horribly graphic movies...do they bear any responsibility? Why just the guns?... What about all of the very violent video games? A More thorought look at Mental Health?? Have a Mental Health Panel to address the revolving doors that currently exhist. Diane Feinstein and The President have sold more guns in the last month than in history because people are feeling as if their rights can be taken away by executive order!! The issue could have been handled better by the White House. Finally...how's that gun control working for you in Chicago??? The only ones with guns are the criminals killing 532 people last year!! The highest in the nation.
donald rivait
7:05 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
It is clear the agenda of the Obama administration, by inacting such ineffective legislation is not concerned with safety of the population but control of the population. This path has proven to lead to social dependency on government and to render national populations helpless to the whims of dictitorial take overs. History is rife with such examples. The framers of our constitution included as the second amendment a provision addressing this dynamic in order that it not be repeated, in the second amendment not the fifth or the last but second, second in importance only to the first, that of freedom of speech. It is my opinion and belief the current adminstration is seeking to undermine the very foundation
of the United States of America with such unconstitutional and ineffective legislation while ignoring the root causes of violence in society.
smc
7:17 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Obama is on the wrong path. If he wants to control violence, 1 better mental health control, 2 if you use a gun in an illegal activity you get life sentence, 3 clamp down on drugs, 4 look at violent video material for kids.
William F Horan
3:39 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Another Obama Distraction? check your wallets!
Grammy-winning musician Steve Vaus,
has recorded a new song that defies those advocating gun confiscation to “come and take it.”
Invoking the spirit of the Texas battle for independence, the song declares, “Come and take it if you want it. Come and take it if you think you can. Come and take it, but we’ll warn you, you’ll have to pry it from our cold, dead hands.”
Vaus’ song proves particularly timely, as President Obama this week announced 23 new “executive actions” aimed at restricting gun use and availability in the U.S. and called for Congress to pass further gun-control legislation.
Several states are mulling ways to counter the president’s agenda, and many individuals fear the president is putting the U.S. on a path toward confiscating guns.
Vaus’ song, however, warns that gun ownership is a God-given right and violators of that right had best beware:
“We want the freedom that God gave us,” the lyrics declare, “so you best not cross that line. If you want this gun you gotta to come through us and take it, one shot at a time.”
The slogan, “Come and take it,” became the battle cry and banner of the Texas Revolution after the 1835 Battle of Gonzalez, in which Texians defied the Mexican government’s demand to return a cannon that had been given them for self-defense. Rather than surrender the cannon to Mexican dragoons, Texians stormed the Mexican camp and drove the soldiers away.
William F Horan
3:56 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
"When Government Can't Be Trusted" another example;
An expose on how environmentalists in some government agencies mislead the public through faulty science and purge scientists who challenge the green agenda political cult of true believers.
“When Government Can’t be Trusted”: An expose on how some government agencies are misleading the public and purging scientists who don't go along with an increasingly radical green agenda. Eight government scientists were recently fired or reassigned after voicing concerns to their superiors about faulty environmental science used for policy decisions. Which begs the question, "Are some government agencies manipulating science to advance political agendas?"
The Department of Interior has been hijacked by a culture of environmentalism. They are engaged in an aggressive crusade to obstruct and undermine the use of natural resources, restrict human access to public lands, and increase its influence over private property. Decisions made by the agency are presumed to be based on sound scientific analysis, but often times policy is driving the science, rather than science driving environmental policy. This has led to anot6her harmful decisions and a violation of the public trust.
Todd Diamond
6:46 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
I don't see how this will reduce gun violence. If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Do you think criminals are going to abide by this law? Nonsense. Criminals will still have unlimited access to weapons. Truth be told, I'm less concerned with criminals these days and more concerned with the firepower that police carry. They also have assault rifles and these days they are more apt to shoot first and ask questions later. They recently gunned down a Soldier in Hawaii who was driving drunk. They had his car boxed in but chose to unload their weapons into him, and killed him. Many people in Hawaii calling the cops actions completely unnecessary. Remember this...cops carry weapons to protect themselves. So who's protecting you?