By Matt Vonschleusingen
EE Staff Writer
Setting the stage for what could be the most sweeping political battle over gun control in decades, President Obama laid out a comprehensive package for reducing gun violence in America on January 17, 2013. The multi-part plan, he says, will not only “help prevent mass shootings” going forward but also “reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country.”
Speaking to an audience that included family members of those killed a month ago in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as children who wrote to Mr. Obama in the wake of recent episodes of mass violence, the president outlined a series of steps both political and administrative that would limit access to guns and certain types of ammunition, make mental health care more attainable, and increase federal funds for both research and law enforcement.
Accompanied by Vice President Biden onstage, Mr. Obama acknowledged the difficulties of pursuing stricter legislation on gun laws, but said he would use “whatever weight this office holds” to achieve his agenda.
“Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there’s even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try,” he said. “This is our first task as a society: Keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change.”
Among the initiatives outlined in Mr. Obama’s plan include universal background checks for gun sales; the reinstatement and strengthening of the assault weapons ban; capping ammunition magazines to a 10-round limit; banning armor-piercing ammunition; providing schools with resource officers and school counselors; putting more police officers on the streets; creating serious punishments for gun trafficking, and ensuring that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.