Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Obama’s strategies to prevent gun violence


Today Obama proposed 10 Big strategies to combat gun violence plus 23 executive orders he will sign immediately to more thoroughly implement gun violence reduction legislation already on the books.

The BIG strategies that will require new legislation are:

·         Require criminal background checks for all gun sales.

·         Reinstate and strengthen the assault weapons ban.

·         Restore the 10-round limit on ammunition magazines.

·         Protect police by finishing the job of getting rid of armor-piercing bullets.

·         Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime including closing loopholes in gun trafficking laws and provide stiff penalties for “straw purchasers”.

·         End the freeze on gun violence research.

·         Provide additional funding to make our schools safer with more school resource officers and school counselors, safer climates, and better emergency response plans.

·         Help ensure that young people get the mental health treatment they need by, among other things, providing training for teachers to detect and respond to mental illness in children and adults to ensure that they get referrals for treatment.

All of these are reasonable proposals for gun safety that are supported by the majority of Americans. None of these proposals will prevent law abiding Americans from owning guns for sport, hunting or self-defense or limit their legitimate rights under the 2nd Amendment.   While these proposals will not eliminate gun violence in our country, they will save lives and reduce or make more difficult the ability for deranged individuals to commit mass murders like in Newtown. 
Expect the right-wing, NRA, gun nuts to go crazy and accuse Obama of destroying the Constitution and commiting an impeachable offense against God and country.  Expect the Republicans in the House to do all they can to prevent these gun safety measures from taking affect. 

No comments: