Obama ‘determined’ to act on gun violence
U.S. vice-president prepares proposals
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama is “determined to take action” on gun violence, his vice-president said Wednesday as a highprofile round of White House meetings began in search of new policies after last month’s Connecticut school shooting.
Vice-President Joe Biden told reporters that the shooting of 20 children, ages 6 and 7, with a legally purchased, high-powered rifle weighed down the nation’s conscience “in a way like nothing I’ve seen in my career.”
While Biden met with victims’ groups and gun safety organizations before this month’s deadline to send proposals to Congress, a contentious debate was emerging on just what gun safety should be.
Obama hopes to announce his administration’s next steps to tackle gun violence shortly after he is sworn in for a second term on Jan. 21.
The United States has the highest rate of firearm ownership among peer countries — 89 civilian-owned firearms for every 100 Americans — and that’s one reason why the country suffers far more violent deaths than any other wealthy nation, a new report said Wednesday.
Biden’s meetings this week include one on Thursday with the country’s most powerful gun lobbying group, the National Rifle Association, which insisted after the Connecticut shooting that the answer to gun violence was arming more “good guys” and putting an armed security officer in every school.
Participants in Wednesday’s meeting included the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence. The group’s president, Dan Gross, said afterward that the meeting was “very productive and actually inspiring.” He said the administration is trying to figure out how to prevent gun deaths, not take guns away from lawful owners.
But as the shock and sorrow begin to fade over the Connecticut attack, some gun-rights advocates are already fighting tighter gun restrictions, and the Senate’s top Republican has warned it could be spring before Congress begins considering any gun legislation.
“The biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week.
Obama wants Congress to reinstate a ban on militarystyle assault weapons, close loopholes that allow gun buyers to avoid background checks and restrict high-capacity magazines.
Other recommendations to the Biden group include making gun-trafficking a felony, getting the Justice Department to prosecute people caught lying on gun background-checkformsand ordering federal agencies to send data to the National Gun Background Check Database.
Some of those steps could be taken through executive action, without the approval of Congress. White House officials say Obama will not finalize any actions until receiving Biden’s recommendations.