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| From left to right: Hinna Zeejah, 8, Taejah Goode, 10, Julia Stokes, 11, and Grant Fritz, 8, who wrote letters to President Barack Obama about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., watch as Obama signs executive orders outlining proposals to reduce gun violence, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Conceding "this will be difficult," President Barack Obama urged
a reluctant Congress on Wednesday to require background checks for all
gun sales and ban both military-style assault weapons and high-capacity
ammunition magazines in an emotion-laden plea to curb gun violence in
America.
The president's sweeping, $500
million plan, coming one month after the school massacre in Connecticut,
marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in nearly two
decades. But his proposals, most of which are opposed by the National
Rifle Association, face a doubtful future in a divided Congress where
Republicans control the House.
Seeking to
circumvent at least some opposition, Obama signed 23 executive actions
on Wednesday, including orders to make more federal data available for
background checks and end a freeze on government research on gun
violence. But he acknowledged that the steps he took on his own would
have less impact than the broad measures requiring approval from Capitol
Hill.
"To make a real and lasting difference,
Congress, too, must act," Obama said, speaking at a White House
ceremony with school children and their parents. "And Congress must act
soon."
The president's announcements capped a
swift and wide-ranging effort, led by Vice President Joe Biden, to
respond to the deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. But Obama's gun control proposals
set him up for a tough political fight with Congress as he starts his
second term, when he'll need Republican support to meet three looming
fiscal deadlines and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
"I
will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe," the president
said. "But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American
people demand it."
Key congressional leaders were tepid in their response to the White House proposals.
Republican
House Speaker John Boehner's office signaled no urgency to act, with
spokesman Michael Steel saying only that "House committees of
jurisdiction will review these recommendations. And if the Senate passes
a bill, we will also take a look at that."
Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was committed to ensuring
that the Senate will consider gun violence legislation "early this
year." But he did not endorse any of Obama's specific proposals.
The
president vowed to use "whatever weight this office holds" to fight for
his recommendations. He's likely to travel around the country in the
coming weeks to rally public support and could engage his still-active
presidential campaign operation in the effort. But he'll have to
overcome a well-financed counter-effort by the NRA.
"This
will be difficult," Obama acknowledged. "There will be pundits and
politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a
tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty - not because that's true, but
because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for
themselves."
The president, speaking in front
of an audience that included families of some of those killed in
Newtown, said 900 Americans had lost their lives to gun violence in the
four weeks since the school shootings.
"We can't put this off any longer," Obama declared. "Every day we wait, the number will keep growing."
Many
Democrats say an assault weapons ban faces the toughest road in
Congress. Obama wants lawmakers to reinstate the expired 1994 ban on the
high-grade weapons, and strengthen the measure to prevent manufacturers
from circumventing the prohibition by making cosmetic changes to banned
guns.
The president is also likely to face opposition to his call for Congress to limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.
But
Democrats are hopeful they can build consensus around the president's
call for universal background checks. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence says 40 percent of gun sales are conducted with no criminal
background checks, such as in some instances at gun shows or by private
sellers over the Internet or through classified ads.
The
NRA is opposed to all three measures. In a statement Wednesday, the gun
lobby said, "Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected" by
Obama's efforts and the nation's children "will remain vulnerable to the
inevitability of more tragedy."
And on the
eve of Obama's announcement, the NRA released an online video accusing
him of being an "elitist hypocrite" for sending his daughters to school
with armed Secret Service agents while opposing having guards with guns
at all U.S. schools.
White House spokesman Jay Carney called the video "repugnant and cowardly."
The
president's proposals did include a $150 million request to Congress
that would allow schools to hire 1,000 new police officers, counselors
and psychologists. The White House plan also includes legislative and
executive action to increase mental health services, including boosting
funding for training aimed at getting young people into treatment more
quickly.
A lopsided 84 percent of Americans
back broader background checks, according to a new Associated Press-GfK
poll. Nearly six in 10 Americans want stricter gun laws, the same poll
showed, with majorities favoring a nationwide ban on military-style
weapons and limits on gun violence depicted in video games, movies and
TV shows.
The NRA and pro-gun lawmakers have
long suggested that violent images in video games and entertainment are
more to blame for mass shootings than the availability of guns. But
Obama's proposals do little to address that concern, other than calling
on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research links
between violent images and gun attacks.
Government
scientists have been prohibited from researching the causes and
prevention of gun violence since 1996, when a budget amendment was
passed that barred researchers from spending taxpayer money on such
studies.
The administration is calling on Congress to provide $10 million for expanded research.
Obama
also wants lawmakers to ban armor-piercing ammunition, except for use
by the military and law enforcement. And he's asking them to create
stiffer penalties for gun trafficking, to provide $14 million to help
train police officers and others to respond to shootings, and to approve
his nominee to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives.
One of the president's executive
actions on Wednesday was to nominate B. Todd Jones to head the ATF,
which has been without a permanent director since 2006. Jones has served
as the bureau's acting director since 2011.
Other steps Obama took through his presidential powers include:
- Ordering tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks.
- Requiring federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
- Ordering a review of safety standards for gun locks and gun safes.
