“Every time I think about
those kids, it gets me mad.” President Obama, referring to the Sandy
Hook shootings, expecting
crackdown
A visibly emotional President
Barack Obama – at one point wiping tears from his cheek – unveiled his plan to
tighten control and enforcement of firearms in the US, using his presidential
powers in the absence of legal changes he implored Congress to pass. Obama on
Tuesday accused the gun lobby of taking Congress hostage, but said "they
cannot hold America hostage".
He insisted it was possible
to uphold the second amendment while doing something to tackle the frequency of
mass shootings in the US that he said had become "the new normal".
The much-debated second
amendment of the constitution guarantees the right of citizens to own firearms,
which have killed more than 100,000 Americans over the past 10 years.
"This is not a plot to
take away everybody's guns," Obama said. "You pass a background
check, you purchase a firearm. The problem is some gun sellers have been
operating under a different set of rules."
Obama's actions ensure that
gun rights - one of the most bitterly divisive issues in America – will be at
the forefront of the 2016 presidential campaign, which begins in earnest next
month with the first primary contests.
Accusing Obama of gross
overreach, many of the Republican presidential candidates have vowed to rip up
the new gun restrictions upon taking office.
Democratic frontrunner
Hillary Clinton said she was proud of Obama's efforts and promised she
would safeguard them, the AP
news agency reported.
Obama thrusts gun control
debate into forefront of 2016 Obama wiped tears away as he recalled the 20 young
children killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Connecticut.
He paid tribute to the
parents, some of whom gathered for the ceremony, who he said had
never imagined their child's
life would be cut short by a bullet.
"Every time I think
about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said.
At the centerpiece of Obama's
plan is a more sweeping definition of gun dealers that the
administration hopes will
expand the number of sales subject to background checks.
Under current law, only
federally licensed gun dealers must conduct background checks on buyers. But at
gun shows, websites and flea markets, sellers often skirt that requirement by
declining to register as licensed dealers.
Aiming to narrow that
loophole, the Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives is
issuing updated guidance that says the government should deem anyone "in
the business" of selling guns to be a dealer, regardless of where he or
she sells the guns.
To that end, the government
will consider other factors, including how many guns a person sells, how
frequently, and whether those guns are sold for a profit.
The White House also put
sellers on notice that the administration planned to strengthen
enforcement - including
deploying 230 new examiners the FBI will hire to process background
checks.
Public opinion polls show
Americans overwhelmingly support expanding background
checks for gun purchases, but
are more divided on the broader question of stricter gun laws.
About one-third of Americans
live in a household where at least one person owns a gun. Particularly in rural
areas where firearms are a way of life, many citizens do not believe gun laws
should be made stricter. The
reverse is true in urban areas, where majorities want tighter firearm
regulations.
Source: Al jazeera
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