Tearful Obama’s gun law vow
BARACk Obama was moved to tears for the victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre yesterday as he unveiled new measures to tighten America’s gun controls.
With tears streaming down his face as he addressed the families of victims and gun control activists, the president condemned the latest outbreaks of gun violence and vowed to try and stop such tragedies becoming routine.
Referring to the 20 primary age children shot dead at the Connecticut school in 2012 by a mentally disturbed former pupil, Mr Obama lost his usual composure.
‘First graders,’ he said, wiping away tears during his speech at the White House. ‘Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.’ Mr Obama has provoked fury from Republicans and gun owners by tightening gun ownership rules without going through Congress, and has been accused of infringing on Americans’ constitutional right to arms.
But he pointedly told critics that this was not a ‘plot to take away everybody’s guns’, adding: ‘We cannot accept this carnage as the price of freedom.’
Officials say he will attempt to expand the number of gun buyers who are subject to criminal background checks. He will also seek to recruit more federal agents to process these sometimes rushed checks and improve the tracking of guns missing in the system. Currently small gun sellers do not need a licence, and do not have to conduct any background checks on potential buyers. The White House said it would try to close that loophole.
The measures being brought in are less drastic than the reforms of the gun trade Mr Obama unsuccessfully attempted to get past Congress three years ago. He has admitted that the failure to introduce meaningful reforms to gun control is one of the great regrets of his presidency.
Attacking Congress for not doing more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, Mr Obama said: ‘The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now but they are not holding America hostage.’