Obama Plans to Curb Gun Violence, Not 2nd Amendment Rights
- Mary Alice Salinas
- Jan 4, 2016
- 2 min read
Attorney General Loretta Lynch listens as President Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 4, 2016.
WHITE HOUSE—U.S. President Barack Obama plans to unveil a series of executive orders in the coming days that he says will curb gun violence but will not step on the rights of Americans to lawfully bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. After meeting with top legal and law enforcement officials at the White House Monday, Obama said he plans to take his case to the American people to explain a series of initiatives he will implement to tighten federal gun control regulations.
Obama said he asked a team of top officials, including U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, to deliver recommendations on what executive actions he can take to curb gun violence.
“The good news is that these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch,” said Obama after the meeting. “But they are also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people including gun owners support and believe in.” Recent polls show an increase in the number of Americans who support background checks on those seeking to purchase a firearm. Among other actions, the White House is pushing for stricter background checks. A new survey by Webster's research center found 85 percent of gun owners believe there should be background checks for every individual seeking to buy a gun. Each year, tens of thousands of people are killed by guns in the United States, including in mass shootings and suicides, committed at far greater rates than in other countries around the world, said the president. The Republican-led Congress opposes more restrictions on gun ownership, and any actions planned by the president likely will face legal challenges. House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the president’s plan Monday, saying the underlying cause of gun violence is mental illness, and that the gun control measures advocated by the White House would not stop such attacks. Ryan pointed out that Congress has rejected gun control measures supported by the White House. “The president is at minimum subverting the legislative branch and potentially overturning its will,” said the Republican congressman. “The American people deserve a president who will respect their constitutional rights - all of them.” But Obama insisted the gun control initiatives he plans are within his power to implement.
The recommendations are “entirely consistent with the second amendment and people’s lawful right to bear arms,” Obama said. “We have been very careful recognizing that although we have a strong tradition of gun ownership in this country, that even those who possess firearms for hunting, for self-protection and for other legitimate reasons want to make sure that the wrong people don’t have them for the wrong reasons.”
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