Gun rights groups, GOP, some Dems fighting Obama’s plan for in guns

And though most of the actions the president outlined can take place unilaterally, lawmakers could raise the prospect of blocking the implementation of some through the funding process.

The president struck a combative tone as he came out with plans for expanded background checks and other modest measures that have drawn criticism from gun rights groups, which Mr Obama accused of making Congress their hostage. “I see no practical effect on criminals”, said Trasancos.

“How many bullets were shot, I don’t know, but he had about eight that entered his body”, Anderson said.

“In Dr. King’s words, we need to feel the fierce urgency of now because people are dying”, President Obama told the audience.

Summoning the ghosts of almost two dozen children killed three years ago in their CT classrooms, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he was pressing ahead with new firearms restrictions unilaterally because the level of gun violence in the United States has robbed so many Americans of their basic right to gather safely. The centerpiece is new federal guidance that seeks to clarify who is “in the business” of selling firearms and has to get a federal license.

The family members of gun violence victims flanked Obama on the stage, including Lucy McBath, mother of Jordan Davis and Jennifer Pinckney, the wife of the late Rev. Clementa Pinckney who died in the AME massacre last summer.

“I think that actually shows that the existing gun laws work just fine, it’s just a matter of enforcing them”, said attorney Eric Puryear. “We’re going to do more to help those suffering from mental illness get the help that they need”, he said, adding that the government is going to boost gun safety technology.

His administration is also proposing a new $500 million investment to expand mental health treatment across the country.

The National Rifle Association said that Obama’s actions would not have prevented any of the mass shootings that Obama mentioned, including Newtown. But the uncertainty the specter of new regulations created has increased gun sales in recent days, Holmen Pawn and Gun owner Nels Holley said, especially for handguns. But Obama defiantly rejected that critique, dismissing it as the exhausted trope of gun lobbyists who question “why bother trying?”

Even Republicans – like House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is on the record on many occasions stating that “we should find a way to close the gun show loophole” – is now doing an about-face.

Wilshire Gun, a gun range/bar/restaurant in Oklahoma City, has experienced a dramatic rise in students for its concealed carry courses, according to general manager Brad Carroll.

How to holster gun violence?