Obama sets out gun control measures in emotional address

[webfact]

Obama sets out gun control measures in emotional address



"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad"

WASHINGTON: -- Barack Obama has delivered a heartfelt defence of his moves to strengthen gun control, to try to put a stop to repeated mass shootings in the United States.

Surrounded by survivors and victims’ relatives at the White House, he set out his plan to require more gun sellers to get licences and more gun buyers to undergo background checks.

Obama cried at times, notably recalling the 20 children shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012.

“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” he said, tears rolling down his cheek.

“That changed me, that day,” he said, after being introduced by Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son was killed in the shooting.

“My hope earnestly has been that it would change the country.”

Obama acknowledged that bringing change was a huge task.

“But a lot of things don’t happen overnight,” he said.

“A woman’s right to vote didn’t happen overnight. The liberation of African Americans didn’t happen overnight. LGBT rights – that is decades worth of work. So just because it is hard, that is no excuse not to try.”

Obama is taking executive action, having failed to persuade Congress to toughen gun laws.

But legal challenges are expected and Republican presidential contenders have pledged to reverse his order if they win the White House.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-06

[webfact]

'It gets me mad' - Obama acts alone on gun control
By JOSH LEDERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tears streaking his cheeks, President Barack Obama launched a final-year push Tuesday to tighten sales of firearms in the U.S., using his presidential powers in the absence of tougher gun restrictions that Congress has refused to pass.

The president struck a combative tone as he came out with plans for expanded background checks and other modest measures that have drawn consternation from gun rights groups, which Obama accused of making Congress their hostage. Palpable, too, was Obama's extreme frustration at having made such little progress on gun control since the slaughter of 20 first-graders in Connecticut confronted the nation more than three years ago.

"First-graders," Obama said woefully, resting his chin on his hand and wiping away tears as he recalled the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad."

Obama's 10-point plan to keep guns from those who shouldn't have them marked a concession by the president: He'll leave office without securing the new gun control laws he's repeatedly and desperately implored Congress to pass.


Although Obama, acting alone, can take action around the margins, only Congress can enact more sweeping changes that gun control advocates say are the only way to truly stem a scourge of mass shootings.

"It won't happen overnight," Obama said. "It won't happen during this Congress. It won't happen during my presidency." But, he added optimistically, "a lot of things don't happen overnight."

The centerpiece of Obama's plan is an attempt to narrow the loophole that exempts gun sales from background checks if the seller isn't a federal registered dealer. With new federal "guidance," the administration is clarifying that even those who sell just a few weapons at gun shows, flea markets or online can be deemed dealers and required to conduct checks on prospective buyers.

Whether that step can make a significant dent in unregulated gun sales is an open question, and one not easily answered.

Millions of guns are sold annually in informal settings outside of gun shops, including many through private sales arranged online. But the Obama administration acknowledged it couldn't quantify how many gun sales would be newly subjected to background checks, nor how many currently unregistered gun sellers would have to obtain a license.

Easily reversible by a future president, the government's guidance to gun sellers lacks the legal oomph of a new law, such as the one Obama and likeminded lawmakers tried but failed to pass in 2013. The Justice Department said online the guidance "has no regulatory effect and is not intended to create or confer any rights, privileges, or benefits in any matter, case, or proceeding."

What's more, none of the steps would have probably prevented any of the recent mass shootings that Obama invoked in the East Room: Aurora, Oak Creek, Charleston, Newtown, to name some. But Obama defiantly rejected that critique, dismissing it as the tired trope of gun lobbyists who question "why bother trying?"

"I reject that thinking," Obama said. "We maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some."

Hoping to give the issue a human face, the White House assembled a cross-section of Americans affected by searing recent gun tragedies, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Mark Barden, whose son was shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School, introduced the president with a declaration that "we are better than this."

Obama readily conceded the executive steps will be challenged in court, a prediction quickly echoed by Republicans.

Chuck James, a former federal prosecutor who practices firearms law at the firm Williams Mullen, said opponents are likely to challenge Obama's authority to define what it means to be "engaged in the business" of selling guns beyond what's laid out in the law. The White House asserted confidence Obama was acting legally, and said Justice Department and White House lawyers had worked diligently to ensure the steps were watertight.

Other new steps include 230 new examiners the FBI will hire to process background checks, aiming to prevent delays that enabled the accused gunman in Charleston, South Carolina, to get a gun when the government took too long.

Obama is also asking the government to research smart gun technology to reduce accidental shootings and asking Congress for $500 million to improve mental health care. Other provisions aim to better track lost or stolen guns and prevent trusts or corporations from buying dangerous weapons without background checks.

Obama's announcement carved a predictably partisan fault line through the presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both competing for the nomination from Obama's party, pledged to build on his actions if elected. The Republican field formed a chorus of voices vowing to annul the whole package, with Marco Rubio claiming "Obama is obsessed with undermining the Second Amendment."

"Rather than focus on criminals and terrorists, he goes after the most law-abiding of citizens," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican. "His words and actions amount to a form of intimidation that undermines liberty."

The National Rifle Association, the largest gun group, panned Obama's plan and said it was "ripe for abuse," although the group didn't specify what steps, if any, it will take to oppose or try to block it.
___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Nancy Benac contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-06

[wellred]

How is he supposed to get anything done? The whole system there is a joke. They need to tear it all up and start again honestly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OMGImInPattaya]

?Obama? an emo-guy...suprise suprise...hand him a box of tissues.

Instead of a cry-baby, have a look at a real man talk about guns:

Edited January 6, 2016 by OMGImInPattaya

[wonder6281]

Why doesn't he shed a tear when his drone strikes murder far more innocent children? What a hypocrite!

[tracker1]

Conjunctivitis must be catchy I remember an Australian Bob Hawk prime minister had the same problem over tiananmen square

[mcfish]

His female fan base will soar

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[LawrenceChee]

This is one of those I agree

Short of living in a shoebox out of Alaska where you have wild bears and real dangers why make guns easily available ?

Gun controls works in most parts of the world and I don't see any infringement to human rights

About time USA agree to something that protects children instead of listening to some gun fetish folks

Edited January 6, 2016 by LawrenceChee

[IAMHERE]

A Presidential Edict is in many ways an order from the Military Commander of the USA. Obama is being the Junta of Washington DC.

[dexterm]

His gun control proposals are pretty tame.

If you are a law abiding citizen and not insane, you can own a gun.

Why the hullabaloo?

[phitsanulokjohn]

Will those American folk ever move on from Cowboys&Injurings?

[mopar71]

MONTAGE: IN 33-MINUTE SPEECH ON GUNS, OBAMA REFERS TO HIMSELF 76 TIMES

https://grabien.com/story.php?id=44989

[neverdie]

He spends a lot of time crying this president.

Wasn't he having a bawl at a recent areetha franklin concert?

[MadDog2020]

How is he supposed to get anything done? The whole system there is a joke. They need to tear it all up and start again honestly.

Really.......that is your response. Tear apart a system that has been working for over 200 years and is one of the most successful countries in the world. All because one man wants to do an end around the normal process for a pet project that he wants.

He wants the rest of the country to become like Chicago which has some of the strictest gun control AND one of the highest rates of gun related homicides in the country.

We need to tear apart Obama and recover from the mess he has created over the last 7 years.

Edited January 6, 2016 by MadDog2020

[MadDog2020]

This is one of those I agree

Short of living in a shoebox out of Alaska where you have wild bears and real dangers why make guns easily available ?

Because it is our individual right granted and guarnteed by our Constitution.

You want to change that, follow the pre-defined process.

Obama is playing at being a dictator. Time for the militia to come out and take back our country.

[MadDog2020]

.......

Gun controls works in most parts of the world and I don't see any infringement to human rights ....

You make me laugh. Like here in Thailand.

[dexterm]

.......

Gun controls works in most parts of the world and I don't see any infringement to human rights ....

You make me laugh. Like here in Thailand.

No...like here..

[Andster 68]

Why not just ban guns altogether? If nobody else has one the why would you need one? People aren't buying hunting rifles they are buying hand guns made to kill people and assault rifles for the same purpose. Obama is right to a certain extent but really well short of the mark. Ban the guns altogether and keep children safe. Period. Or carry on the way they are now and count the bodies every other month.

[chuckd]

Why not just ban guns altogether? If nobody else has one the why would you need one? People aren't buying hunting rifles they are buying hand guns made to kill people and assault rifles for the same purpose. Obama is right to a certain extent but really well short of the mark. Ban the guns altogether and keep children safe. Period. Or carry on the way they are now and count the bodies every other month.

Great idea. Let's ban guns just like when we banned drugs.

That worked really well, didn't it.

[Andster 68]

Why not just ban guns altogether? If nobody else has one the why would you need one? People aren't buying hunting rifles they are buying hand guns made to kill people and assault rifles for the same purpose. Obama is right to a certain extent but really well short of the mark. Ban the guns altogether and keep children safe. Period. Or carry on the way they are now and count the bodies every other month.

Great idea. Let's ban guns just like when we banned drugs.

That worked really well, didn't it.

Taking drugs will nearly always be a personal choice, getting shot never is.

[Scott]

A post with messed up formatting has been removed from view.

[CMNightRider]

The photo of Obama crying over his inability to restrict gun ownership for law abiding citizens in America is pathetic. Why doesn't he direct his energy into enforcing gun laws already on the books, and go after criminals. This guy spends way too much time playing golf.

The second amendment isn't going anywhere, and anyone who thinks guns are ever going to be banned in America are having a bad dream. Gun control is about sight alignment, breathing, and trigger squeeze, not coming up with more gun laws.

God Bless America, and pass the ammunition.

[mopar71]

Why not just ban guns altogether? If nobody else has one the why would you need one? People aren't buying hunting rifles they are buying hand guns made to kill people and assault rifles for the same purpose. Obama is right to a certain extent but really well short of the mark. Ban the guns altogether and keep children safe. Period. Or carry on the way they are now and count the bodies every other month.

Great idea. Let's ban guns just like when we banned drugs.

That worked really well, didn't it.

Taking drugs will nearly always be a personal choice, getting shot never is.

It might be a personal choice to take drugs (unless you're dating Bill Cosby), but there is a lot of illegal & violent activity taking place from the time the drug is created to the time it ends up in your nose or lungs.

No drugs would take a big chunk out of gun deaths. Those gang-bangers and drug dealers would have to resort to knives like it was West Side Story all over again.

[Andster 68]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

[beechguy]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

Yea, well think of all of this, when your country is knee deep in crap, and they have to ask the U.S. for help.

[CMNightRider]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

If you are a British citizen, why is gun ownership in America such an emotional issue with you? If you are happy with not having the ability to own a firearm, why worry about people who do have that right?

[Andster 68]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

If you are a British citizen, why is gun ownership in America such an emotional issue with you? If you are happy with not having the ability to own a firearm, why worry about people who do have that right?

Why worry about anybody right?

[StasD]

Obama is an actor and these are crocodile's tears

Edited January 6, 2016 by StasD

[Andster 68]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

Yea, well think of all of this, when your country is knee deep in crap, and they have to ask the U.S. for help.

No, I'll think about this the next time someone walks into a US school and opens fire with an assault rifle, again. Unfortunately, I'm sure I wont have to wait long. There will be some nutcase who feels like he doesn't fit in who'll just order up some heavy duty weaponry on the internet with some false ID and it'll happen all over again.

The NRA will be praying he's a Muslim so they can justify it all and if he's not then they'll just say that the teachers and students should have been armed.

And nobody will ever learn, they'll just want to buy more guns and make it easier for anyone to buy them.

[beechguy]

You know what, you pro gun Americans are right.

What the hell was I thinking, ban guns? That was a cockamamie idea. I must have been tripping.

Yeah, more guns. That's the answer, That's the only way to stop the slaughter of kids in schools.

Thanks for the edjucashun. I didn't know the beauty of guns, what with being British and all. We are not allowed to carry em there, cos the Police and Politicians are all commies.

Man, we are getting our asses picked of every day by gun toting drug dealers and there's nothing we can do about it. Not.

God Bless America? I'm not religious, but assault rifles and God, really?

I truly fear for the lives of all the children born in your country. I really wish I didn't have to.

Yea, well think of all of this, when your country is knee deep in crap, and they have to ask the U.S. for help.

No, I'll think about this the next time someone walks into a US school and opens fire with an assault rifle, again. Unfortunately, I'm sure I wont have to wait long. There will be some nutcase who feels like he doesn't fit in who'll just order up some heavy duty weaponry on the internet with some false ID and it'll happen all over again.

The NRA will be praying he's a Muslim so they can justify it all and if he's not then they'll just say that the teachers and students should have been armed.

And nobody will ever learn, they'll just want to buy more guns and make it easier for anyone to buy them.

I think you are entitled to your opinion, it's just unfortunate that you are so misinformed.

By the way, if some nutcase used a false ID, shooting in schools, etc. they would be breaking laws that already exist. The Obama drama doesn't change anything.

Edited January 6, 2016 by beechguy