President Barack
Obama grew emotional Tuesday as he made a passionate call for a national
"sense of urgency" to limit gun violence.
He was introduced by
Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Connecticut. Obama circled back to that shooting in the
final moments of his speech.
"Every time I
think about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said, pausing to wipe away
tears.
He added: "And
by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day," referring to
his hometown where he began his political career.
The White House is
introducing a new requirement that would expand background checks for buyers.
The measure mandates that individuals "in the business of selling
firearms" register as licensed gun dealers, effectively narrowing the
so-called "gun show loophole," which exempts most small sellers from
keeping formal sales records.
Former Congresswoman
and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, who was seriously injured in a 2011
mass shooting, was also in attendance at Tuesday's event and was greeted with a
standing ovation from the White House audience.
Obama hammered
congressional Republicans for opposing measures like expanded background checks
as he called on Americans to punish them at the polls. He defended his actions
to strengthen background checks for purchasing guns, answering critics who say
the measure would not make it harder for criminals to obtain firearms.
"Each time this
comes up, we are fed the excuse that common-sense reforms like background
checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, or the
one before that, so why bother trying," Obama said. "I reject that
thinking."
"We know we
can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we
could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence," he added.
The President blasted
the gun lobby, particularly the National Rifle Association, and insisted that
his actions are "not a plot to take away everybody's guns."
He compared his push
for gun control to steps the United States and businesses have taken to limit
traffic fatalities, require fingerprints to unlock iPads and keep children from
opening bottles of aspirin.
"I believe in
the Second Amendment, there written on paper, that guarantees the right to bear
arms," Obama said. "No matter how many times people try to twist my
words around, that's our constitutional law. I know a little bit about this.
But I also believe that we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with
the Second Amendment."
Obama said Congress,
which blocked a tougher gun bill in 2013, still needs to impose new gun control
measures. He noted that many of the actions he's calling for can only be
imposed through legislative action.
"Congress still
needs to act," Obama said. "The folks in this room will not rest
until Congress does. Because once Congress gets on board with common-sense gun
safety measures, we can reduce gun violence a whole lot."
"But we also
can't wait," Obama added. "Until we have the Congress that's in line
with the majority of Americans, there are actions within my legal authority
that we can take to help reduce gun violence and save more lives."
In addition to
expanding and bolstering the background check system to cover sales that take
place online and at gun shows, Obama said the administration will provide more
funding for mental health treatment, FBI staff and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco Firearms and Explosives agents.
On Capitol Hill, the
reaction from Republicans was just as Obama had predicted.
House Speaker Paul
Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said Obama's actions "will no doubt be challenged in
the courts" and "can be overturned by a Republican President."
"From day one,
the President has never respected the right to safe and legal gun ownership
that our nation has valued since its founding," Ryan said in a statement.
"He knows full well that the law already says that people who make their
living selling firearms must be licensed, regardless of venue. Still, rather
than focus on criminals and terrorists, he goes after the most law-abiding of
citizens. His words and actions amount to a form of intimidation that
undermines liberty."
Democratic
presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, vowed in New Hampshire on
Tuesday that she will "take on that fight" and continue Obama's gun
control push if she's elected.
On Twitter, in a
tweet signed "-H" to indicate it was written by Clinton, rather than
her staff, the former secretary of state thanked Obama "for taking a crucial
step forward on gun violence. Our next President has to build on that
progress—not rip it away."
And her campaign
highlighted Republican candidates' criticism of Obama's comments on its website, warning that a GOP president would undo
Obama's actions.
Many polls have found
broad support for expanded background checks -- the most recent being a
Quinnipiac University poll in December. In that survey, 89% overall support it, 84% in
gun-owning households, 87% of Republicans, 86% of independent, 95% of
Democrats.
In a December
CNN/ORC poll, 48% of Americans said they were in favor of stricter gun
control laws, 51% were opposed.
Support for stricter
laws has been less than half since 2013. There's a sharp partisan divide on the
question, with 74% of Democrats in favor of stricter laws, while just 23% of
Republicans feel the same way.
Among those who live
in a gun-owning household, 29% favor stricter laws, that rises to 65% among
those who live in households where no one owns a gun.
Just 35% approve of
Obama's handling of gun policy, including 56% of Democrats and 55% of liberals.
That's well below his approval rating among Democrats/liberals for other top
issue.
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