WASHINGTON (AP) — Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing
gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style
assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.
A month after that horrific massacre, Obama
also used his presidential powers to enact 23 measures that don't
require the
backing of lawmakers. The president's executive actions include
ordering federal agencies to make more data available for
background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers
for Disease Control to research gun violence.
But the president, speaking at White House ceremony, focused his attention on the divided Congress, saying only lawmakers
could enact the most effective measures for preventing more mass shootings.
"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said. "And Congress must act soon."
The president vowed to use "whatever weight
this office holds" to press lawmakers into action on his $500 million
plan. He
is also calling for improvements in school safety, including
putting 1,000 police officers in schools and bolstering mental
health care by training more health professionals to deal with
young people who may be at risk.
The National Rifle Association promptly took issue with Obama's proposals, and even supportive lawmakers said the president's
gun control measures face long odds in Congress.
"Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation," the NRA said in a statement.
"Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more
tragedy."
House Speaker John Boehner's office was
non-committal to the president's package, but signaled no urgency to act
on the legislative
proposals. "House committees of jurisdiction will review these
recommendations," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said. "And
if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said ahead of Obama's presentation that he didn't know whether an assault
weapons ban could pass the Senate, but said there are some measures that can, such as improved background checks.
"There are some who say nothing will pass. I disagree with that," Leahy, D-Vt., told students at Georgetown University Law
Center. "What I'm interested in is what we can get."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,
called Obama's package "thoughtful recommendations" and said the Senate
would consider
legislation addressing gun violence early this year.
"The tragedy at Sandy Hook was just the
latest sad reminder that we are not doing enough to protect our citizens
- especially
our children - from gun violence and a culture of violence, and
all options should be on the table moving forward," he said.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus dismissed Obama's measures as "an executive power grab."
"He paid lip service to our fundamental constitutional rights," Priebus said of the president, "but took actions that disregard
the Second Amendment and the legislative process."
Acknowledging the tough fight ahead, Obama said there will be pundits, politicians and special interest groups that will seek
to "gin up fear" that the White House wants to take away the right to own a gun.
"Behind the scenes, they'll do everything they can to block any commonsense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever,"
he said. "The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time
must be different, that this time we must do something to protect our communities and our kids."
The president was flanked by children who wrote him letters about gun violence in the weeks following the Newtown shooting.
Families of those killed in the massacre, as well as survivors of the shooting, were also in the audience, along with law
enforcement officers and congressional lawmakers.
"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe," Obama said. "This is how we will be judged."
Seeking to expand the impetus for addressing
gun violence beyond the Newtown shooting, the president said more than
900 Americans
have been killed by guns in the month since the elementary school
massacre.
"Every day we wait, the number will keep growing," he said.
The White House has signaled that Obama
could launch a campaign to boost public support for his proposals.
Nearly six in 10
Americans want stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the Newtown
shooting, with majorities favoring a nationwide ban on military-style,
rapid-fire weapons and limits on gun violence depicted in video
games, movies and TV shows, according to a new Associated
Press-GfK poll.
A lopsided 84 percent of adults would like to see the establishment of a federal standard for background checks for people
buying guns at gun shows, the poll showed.
The president based his proposals on
recommendations from an administration-wide task force led by Vice
President Joe Biden.
His plan marks the most comprehensive effort to address gun
violence since Congress passed the 1994 ban on high-grade,
military-style
assault weapons. The ban expired in 2004, and Obama wants
lawmakers to renew and expand it.
Other measures Obama wants Congress to take up include limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines and requiring background
checks for all gun buyers in an attempt to close the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows people to buy guns at trade
shows and over the Internet without submitting to background checks.
Obama also intends to seek confirmation for B. Todd Jones, who has served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives since 2011.
The president's plan does little to address
violent images in video games, movies and entertainment, beyond asking
the CDC
to study their impact on gun crimes. Some pro-gun lawmakers who
are open to addressing stricter arms legislation have insisted
they would do so only in tandem with recommendations for
addressing violence in entertainment.
• Requiring background checks on all gun sales. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says 40 percent of gun sales are conducted with no criminal background check, such as at gun shows and by private sellers over the Internet or through classified ads. Obama said there should be exceptions for cases like certain transfers among family members and temporary transfers for hunting purposes.
• Reinstating the assault weapons ban. A 10-year ban on high-grade, military-style weapons expired in 2004. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says such a ban might clear the Senate but doubts it could get through the House.
• Renewing a 10-round limit on the size of ammunition magazines.
• Prohibiting the possession, transfer, manufacture and import of dangerous armor-piercing bullets.
• Senate confirmation of a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The agency has been run by an acting director, Todd Jones, whom Obama will nominate to become director.
• New gun trafficking laws penalizing people who help criminals get guns.
• Address legal barriers in health laws that bar some states from making available information about people who are prohibited from having guns.
• Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
• Make sure that federal agencies share relevant information with the background check system.
• Direct the attorney general to work with other agencies to review existing laws to make sure they can identify individuals who shouldn't have access to guns.
• Direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other research agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence.
• Clarify that no federal law prohibits doctors or other health care providers from contacting authorities when patients threaten to use violence.
• Give local communities the opportunity to hire up to 1,000 school resource officers and counselors.
• Require federal law enforcement to trace all recovered guns.
• Propose regulations that will enable law enforcement to run complete background checks before returning firearms that have been seized.
• Direct the Justice Department to analyze information on lost and stolen guns and make that information available to law enforcement.
• Provide training for state and local law enforcement, first responders and school officials on how to handle active-shooter situations.
• Make sure every school has a comprehensive emergency management plan.
• Help ensure that young people get needed mental health treatment.
• Ensure that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.
• Encourage development of new technology to make it easier for gun owners to safely use and store their guns.
• Have the Consumer Product Safety Commission assess the need for new safety standards for gun locks and gun safes.
• Launch a national campaign about responsible gun ownership.