Abbott: Obama gun control actions ‘trampled’ Bill of Rights

“Contrary to claims of some [GOP] presidential candidates just before this meeting, this is not a plot to take away everybody’s guns”. We know that in states that have universal background checks, gun deaths have gone down…Right now, about 40% of gun sales do not require that. “How did we get to the place where people think expanded background checks is an excuse to take away people’s guns?”

However, all of his gun safety proposals have been shot down by the Republican-led Congress, despite the fact that, as President Obama said, one in 30 gun buyers have a violent criminal record.

During today’s speech, President Obama was quick to note that he wasn’t trying to confiscate all firearms-he was simply trying to curb the gun violence that kills an average of 300,000 Americans per year. Which is true: Eighty-six percent of Americans favor universal background checks, and fifty-five percent of Americans support having stricter laws about the sale of guns, according to Gallup polls. “But I also believe that we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the Second Amendment”.

The White House said that it has established the Internet Investigation Center, a program from the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) that tracks illegal sales and shipments of firearms online.

“If the President is interested in stopping mass shootings, we should look at the root causes, such as home grown terrorism in San Bernardino and recognized but untreated mental illness in Lafayette and Newtown”.

“I think that some of the people might not be opposed to this if they didn’t make it so cumbersome, make it a little bit easier to get their background checks”, adds McKinlay. How will he do that? Irvine raised concerns that requiring more background checks for small sellers would only increase the price of buying a gun. If you have to be licensed, that means you have to do a background check.

Researchers say a decline in hunting is partly responsible for the shrinking number of households with a gun.

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.

But Tennessee Republicans blasted Obama for going around Congress. President Obama said at the press conference.

“The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they can’t hold America hostage”, he said.

HOLT: Alright, Chris. And the President is about speak in a moment. “That changed me, that day”, he said, after being introduced by Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son was killed in the shooting.

Of course, the president’s tears had fans and detractors.

We should note there has been immediate reaction. Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee, called the changes “executive overreach” that “is all about burnishing the president’s legacy and boosting Democrat enthusiasm in a presidential election year”. He says in a statement, “No matter what President Obama says, his word does not trump the Second Amendment”.