By Jon Mettus
Editor-In-Chief
Due to the recent shooting in Newtown, Conn. and pressure from the public, President Obama has revealed urgent plans to change gun control laws in the United States
During a news conference at the White House on Jan. 16, Obama made proposals to Congress and initiated 23 executive actions.
In his proposal to prevent gun tragedies in the future, the president urged Congress to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, expand background checks and toughen gun-trafficking laws.
“I don’t understand why it took the massacre of 26 people to have to consider enacting these kinds of common sense gun control laws and I don’t understand why we didn’t have background checks on all gun sales to begin with,” senior Mike Meredith said. “Anything we can do to keep guns out of the hands of criminals should have been done years ago.”
Specifically, Obama asked that Congress bring back and strengthen a ban on the sale and production of assault weapons that passed in 1994 and expired in 2004, ban the sale and production of ammunition magazines exceeding 10 rounds and require criminal background checks for every gun sale. Currently, via a loop hole, citizens can purchase weapons from unlicensed sellers at gun shows or in private sales, which allows them to avoid the background check process.
Additionally, President Obama proposed a ban on the possession or transfer of armor-piercing bullets, as well as measures to limit “straw purchasers,” people who pass background checks and legally purchase firearms, but with the intention of making the purchase for, or then distributing the weapons to, those who would not legally be allowed to purchase them.
“There is no reason to have an assault rifle with a 500 round magazine to go hunting; the only reason one would have one is to kill people,” Meredith said. “That’s what they were designed, built, and used for in the military.”
According to a Jan. 16 article published in the New York Times written by Peter Baker and Michael D. Shear, Obama stated that he will “put everything [he’s] got into this and so will Joe,” and that “ the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.”
The 23 executive actions included plans to launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign; issue a presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations; provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations; and maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
Also incorporated were plans to develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education and release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
As part of the executive actions, the president nominated Todd Jones, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to become the agency’s permanent director.
According to the White House website, President Obama’s four part plan to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence entitled “Now Is The Time” includes “closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands; banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and taking other common-sense steps to reduce gun violence; making schools safer; and increasing access to mental health services.”
Despite the Obama Administration’s strong support of gun-control, these new proposals will be met with opposition from members of Congress, members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun enthusiasts alike. The NRA even ran an ad calling the president an “elitist hypocrite” for opposing armed guards in schools while his daughters are protected by secret service.
While it could be argued that the president is infringing upon the second amendment rights of Americans, Obama contends that certain rights (the second amendment) shouldn’t prevent people from enjoying their other rights. He believes that the “most fundamental set of rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were “denied to college students at Virginia Tech and high school students at Columbine and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate.”
The outline of the president’s plan on the White House website ends with, “No single law – or even set of laws – can prevent every act of violence in our country. But the fact that this problem is complex can not be an excuse for inaction.”
