Obama's Gun Proposals

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Conservative Tom

What Are Obama's Gun Control Proposals? An Easy Guide

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By Matt Vasilogambros

Updated: January 16, 2013 | 1:38 p.m.
January 16, 2013 | 12:18 p.m.

President Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, left, hugs eight-year-old letter writer Grant Fritz during a news conference on proposals to reduce gun violence, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The sweeping gun-control package that President Obama unveiled Wednesday includes proposals to ban assault weapons, limit high-capacity magazines, and improve mental-health care. Many of the proposals will need congressional approval, but also included are several executive actions Obama plans to take. The proposals were developed by a task force led by Vice President Joe Biden in the aftermath of the mass shooting last month at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Here is a look at what Obama is proposing:

Assault Weapons Ban: Obama is seeking a reinstatement of an earlier federal ban, which expired in 2004. The original measure was signed by President Clinton in 1994, but Congress declined to renew it. (After the last attempt expired, gun violence went down)

Limiting High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines: Advocates of a limit on high-capacity magazines believe it could slow down a shooter planning to carry out a massacre, such as the one at Sandy Hook. Obama’s proposal would limit these magazines to 10 bullets. Rep. Ron Barber, who was wounded in the Tucson, Ariz., shootings, is one of the advocates for this proposal. (Sandy Hook killer had 600 more bullets left after he killed himself. Limiting the number of bullets in a magazine might slow someone down due to changing magazines, but if he/she is prepared, they can have multiple clips.  This is a head fake and when it does not stop the next killer, they will outlaw all ammo magazines.)

Getting Rid of Armor-Piercing Bullets: Although it is illegal to manufacture and import armor-piercing bullets in the U.S., the president is sending legislation to Congress that will ban the possession and transfer of the ammunition. (Do you really think that the bad guys--most law abiding people do not have this type of ammo--will get rid of their bullets. This is typical lefty thinking.)

Gun-Trafficking Law: A favorite of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a gun-control group with major backing from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this measure would help prevent the trafficking of guns between states. This measure would make it easier for law enforcement officers to go after “strawmen” who buys guns for other people and transfer them across state lines. (Seems that Fast and Furious was about this entire idea--however, it was the government who told the gun dealers to sell the arms. Stupid idea!)

Universal Background Checks: Anyone who buys a gun at a store, a gun show, or through other private sellers would have to go through a criminal background check before purchasing the weapon, under this legislative proposal. Senior White House officials said there would be exceptions for transfers between family members, however. The president will also direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to explain to licensed dealers how to best run background checks on potential buyers. (Background checks are already in place for store purchases. This would address the dreaded "gun show" sale and private deals. One would wonder how an individual who is selling his gun to his neighbor could do a background check--this is another example of lefty stupidity.  Having BATF instruct licensed dealers on background checks--is the most stupid. It is already done!

Tougher Background-Check System: Through executive action, the administration will give states $20 million in new incentives to share their information with a broader background-check system. The president will address legal barriers to reporting information that the White House has deemed unnecessary. The president will also ask federal agencies to update their records and make them available to the national background-check database. ("Remove them pesky legal barriers--we don't need them dumb laws, we know better" is what this says. What federal agencies are going to update what records--could this be the IRS?)

Review of Prohibitions on Gun Ownership: The president will ask the attorney general to look into current laws that outline which people are prohibited from buying guns, and make appropriate recommendations to improve the system. Currently, felons and some persons with disabilities are not allowed to purchase weapons. (This is where they are going to get all people who have taken a psychotropic drug or seen a psychologist or psychologist regardless of the reason or when the drug/doctor interaction took place.)

Nominate a New Head of the ATF: Obama will nominate Todd Jones as permanent head of the alcohol and firearms bureau. The agency has been without a congressionally confirmed director in six years. Jones is a U.S. attorney in Minnesota and has been serving as acting head of the ATF. (Check out the reason that Todd Jones has not been confirmed.)

Gun-Violence Research: The president is seeking a resumption of research into gun violence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through executive action. Congress halted the research because of lawmaker concerns that the agency was advocating for gun control. White House lawyers found that researching the cause of gun violence would not qualify as advocacy. The agency would be tasked with looking into the causes of gun violence, including a correlation between video games and violent behavior. (Why are they only researching gun violence? Why are they not investigating reports of people who use guns to prevent violence? Reason: it doesn't meet their agenda!)

School Safety: The administration, through executive order, will allow local communities to use money under the “COPS” initiative — which is aimed at putting more police officers on the street — to hire “school resource officers” who could help improve safety in schools. The White House would also make more money available to cities and towns to allow them to hire more mental-health workers for schools. The administration will also work with schools to develop emergency plans that could help them become better equipped to respond to incidents such as a shooting. (So now we are moving dollars from cops to psyhchologists in schools. Would that have prevented Sandy Hook or Aurora? Nope.  As far as emergency plans--Sandy Hook was prepared. He shot out the lock and entered. No one there had any way of defeating his guns.  This is just a movement of money to the schools from cops, it will do nothing.)

Combating Bullying: Through the Health and Human Services Department, the administration will provide new resources aimed at reducing bullying. (Who was bullied in Aurora or Sandy Hook. We don't know of any evidence to those facts. Dumb, junk science.)

Obamacare Regulations: The administration will develop regulations for the Affordable Care Act aimed at ensuring comprehensive care for mental-health problems. This would include putting money toward new social workers and psychologists. (Obamacare prevents doctors from asking questions about guns in the home, now that looks like it will be gone. More money going to social workers and psychologists--who controls and what will be the effect?  No doubt that we need to stop the crazies in our society like Aurora or Sandy Hook but how do you evaluate mental health in light of client privacy or do we say that anytime someone says that he is "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" that that person has to be reported to authorities? Do we take away guns from everyone that is ever fired?  These are all feel good solutions to a very dicey issue.)