Obama unveils gun control proposals

 

 

President Obama: "To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act"

 President Obama has unveiled the most sweeping gun control proposals in two decades, setting up a showdown with firearms rights advocates. He called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and wider background checks on gun buyers.

The Democratic president also signed 23 executive actions, which do not require congressional approval. A month after the school massacre in Connecticut, he said gun-control reforms could wait no longer.

Mr Obama unveiled the proposals at the White House on Wednesday, flanked by children who wrote him letters after December's Newtown shooting, which left 20 children and six teachers dead.
Mr Obama said: "if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try."

The top US gun lobbying group, the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), said the proposals were "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," the group said in a statement.

The president urged Congress:

• to reintroduce an expired ban on new purchases of "military-style" assault weapons, such as those used in several recent mass shootings
• limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds and pass a ban on possession and sale of armour-piercing bullets
• introduce background checks on all gun sales; currently private purchases and some transactions at gun shows are exempt
• introduce harsher penalties for gun-traffickers, especially unlicensed dealers who buy arms for criminals
• finally approve the appointment of the head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Mr Obama also signed 23 unilateral orders, including an end to a ban on gun-violence research by a prominent federal agency, and a measure promoting responsible gun ownership. But he acknowledged his legislative push would encounter stiff opposition in Congress.
"This will be difficult," he said.  "There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty -- not because that's true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves.  And behind the scenes, they'll do everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus dismissed Obama's measures.
"He paid lip service to our fundamental constitutional rights," Mr Priebus said of the president, "but took actions that disregard the second amendment and the legislative process."

The US has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in the world. The second amendment of the US constitution states that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Although the meaning of the full clause is still debated, many gun-rights advocates read it absolutely and oppose the idea of any curbs on access to weapons.

Can a movement that calls for more guns in the US be effective at saving lives? The White House proposals follow meetings between a task force led by Vice-President Joe Biden and groups from across the political spectrum.  Mr Biden met gun control and firearms rights advocates, entertainment and video game industry figures, parents of shooting victims and law enforcement officials.

The task force also consulted the NRA, which says it has signed up more than 100,000 members since the Newtown massacre. Earlier, the NRA released a web ad attacking Mr Obama as "an elitist hypocrite" for allowing Secret Service agents to protect his daughters, while not committing to back armed guards in all US schools. The White House said the ad was "repugnant and cowardly".

On Wednesday, Mr Obama also proposed freeing up law enforcement funds for schools to hire 1,000 new armed police, school psychologists, social workers or other staff trained to prevent violence.

Just My Viewpoint

The revolutionary war ( 1775-1777) was an unbelievably bloody and exhausting conflict. After tremendous losses and driving the country to the brink of  bankruptcy, the Continental Army finally defeated the British with the military and financial help of France. Post revolutionary times were hard  for veterans and their impoverished families. The  soldiers' script they received for pay was almost worthless. The existing government, such as it was, could not deal with the debts of war. The individual states were not contributing enough and there were foreign loans to pay.  These conditions existed throughout the thirteen states.
 Farmers in Western Massachusetts resented the fact that the state's tax laws favored trade at the expense of farming. They were suffering. Many were deeply in debt and were facing serious legal penalties that included prison. People were sold into servitude and their farms were taken.

 America was a nation in flux with no strong central government. It was a frontier, an untamed wilderness. People had to live off the land. Impoverished families had to eat whatever they could trap or shoot.  Thieves, often veterans, wandered in bands, stealing whatever they could lay their hands on. The land beyond cities was lawless. And as pioneers pushed west there was the ever-present danger of hostile Indians and natural predators to defend themselves and their loved ones from.

 It was in this environment that the Constitution of the United states was  framed. It was written for the times the Framers and all American citizens were living in....the 1700's. They were not looking this far into the future when they formed the words. They were dealing with the problems of their day. When the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791 it made sense. You had to defend yourself from many and varied dangers and you had to shoot your food.

It does not have the same kind of application in the enlightened age we live in. We have moved forward into the  future . Those dangers no longer exist and we shop at the supermarket for food. The only danger out there is people with guns.

I am not naive enough to believe that doing away with the Second Amendment would completely do away with gun violence, but I understand the impact of guns on children. This nation was constructed and reconstructed in the aftermath of violent and bloody conflicts. Still, the Framers believed that not only the Constitution, but also the peaceful way the document was created, would influence Americans. The Constitution would be the only weapon needed unless there was an external enemy.
 I doubt this amendment envisioned the kind of gun possession mania that has been permitted across the country in the last decade. The Second Amendment acknowledged the vulnerability of a nation in its infancy, but could not predict a world where people would move through life feeling more like targets than citizens. 

The Genie

I dedicate my remarks to my partner, Witchy, who is a proud supporter of 'Mothers Against Guns'
(MAG) a sister society to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD)