President Obama Announces New Measures to Prevent Gun Violence

President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, signs executive orders initiating 23 separate executive actions, after delivering remarks to unveil new gun control proposals as part of the Administration’s response to the Newtown, Conn. shootings, and other tragedies, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Jan. 16, 2013. Joining them on stage are children from around the country who wrote the President letters in the wake of the Newtown tragedy expressing their concerns about gun violence and school safety, and their parents. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

President Obama today announced a series of sweeping reforms that will help curb gun violence in our nation.

In front of a crowd that included victims of gun violence, families who lost loved ones to gun violence, elected officials, and school children who had written letters asking him to do something to prevent more senseless massacres like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the President introduced a comprehensive proposal that will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and will give law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals, and the public health community the tools they need to help reduce gun violence, and keep our children safe.

“This is our first task as a society,” the President said. “This is how we will be judged.  And their voices should compel us to change.”

These actions are the result of the effort led by Vice President Joe Biden and members of the Cabinet to come up with concrete steps that we can take right now to keep our children safe, help prevent mass shootings, and reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country.

The President acknowledged that implementing some of these changes will be difficult, but vowed to make it a priority: “I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality. Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence – if even one life can be saved – we have an obligation to try.”

While President Obama will sign 23 Executive Actions today that will help keep our kids safe, he was clear that he cannot and should not act alone: The most important changes depend on Congressional action. The President is calling on lawmakers to pass some specific proposals, including the elimination of all loopholes and require a universal background check on anyone trying to buy a gun, restoring the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines, and creating tougher penalties on people who buy guns with the express purpose of reselling them to criminals.

President Obama also affirmed his belief that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms, and stressed that, like most Americans, he believes that we all have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure guns are used safely:

"I also believe most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown.  That’s what these reforms are designed to do. They’re common-sense measures. They have the support of the majority of the American people."

The Presidents Schedule Today

The President and the Vice President hold an event at the White House to unveil a package of proposals to reduce gun violence.

10:00 AM	The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing Oval Office
11:55 AM	The President and the Vice President hold an event at the White House to unveil a package of proposals to reduce gun violence South Court Auditorium

President Obama: "Words Need to Lead to Action" on Gun Violence

 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

White House-Five days after the tragic shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama said that he is committed to reducing the epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day.

At a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, the President announced that Vice President Joe Biden will lead a new initiative that has been tasked with identifying concrete proposals for real reform by January. The Vice President, who wrote the 1994 Crime Bill that helped law enforcement bring down the rate of violent crime and included the assault weapons ban, will work with members of the Cabinet and outside organizations on this effort, and President Obama urged the new Congress to hold votes on the proposals early next year:

The good news is there’s already a growing consensus for us to build from.  A majority of Americans support banning the sale of military-style assault weapons.  A majority of Americans support banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips.  A majority of Americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases, so that criminals can’t take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won’t take the responsibility of doing a background check at all.
The President made clear that this is a complex issue, and that solutions must be wide-ranging and include everything from access to mental health services to confronting a culture that at times glorifies violence. But he also made clear that the price of doing nothing is much too high for our country to bear:

Since Friday morning, a police officer was gunned down in Memphis, leaving four children without their mother.  Two officers were killed outside a grocery store in Topeka.  A woman was shot and killed inside a Las Vegas casino.  Three people were shot inside an Alabama hospital.  A four-year-old was caught in a drive-by in Missouri, and taken off life support just yesterday. Each one of these Americans was a victim of the everyday gun violence that takes the lives of more than 10,000 Americans every year -- violence that we cannot accept as routine.
So I will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this.  We won’t prevent them all -- but that can’t be an excuse not to try.  It won’t be easy -- but that can't be an excuse not to try.
You can read the President's full remarks or watch the press conference on video.

Senator Collins Comments on the Elementary School Shooting and Gun Control

WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Susan Collins issued the following statement regarding the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut:

"I am just sickened by the horrific tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut.  My heart is filled with sorrow for the victims, particularly the little children whose lives were cut short, for their loved ones who are enduring unspeakable grief, and for the entire community, which is struggling to comprehend this shocking act of violence.


"This is yet another mass murder that our country has experienced far too often.  We are still learning the details of the murderer who cut short the lives of 20 little children and seven adults and caused such terrible suffering and unspeakable grief for their families and their community.  While we may never know why the shooter killed so many people and himself, we must strive to better understand the multiple causes of such horrific violence.

"Since the shootings, some have called for stricter gun laws.  While denying the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens won't change the behavior of those intent on using firearms for criminal purposes, I wholeheartedly agree that we must examine what can be done to help prevent gun violence.   I grew up in northern Maine where responsible gun ownership is part of the heritage of many families, and Connecticut has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country.  Nevertheless, we should examine, among other issues, whether states are reporting data on mentally ill individuals found to be a danger to themselves or others to the national background check database designed to prevent gun purchases by such individuals.  During my tenure in the Senate, I have voted for instant background checks, which are designed to prevent individuals with criminal records or serious mental illness from purchasing guns.  I also supported an extension of the assault weapon ban when it expired in 2004.

"As was the case in the Connecticut, Colorado, and Arizona shootings, mental illness is a salient factor in many of these tragedies.  We must also have a national dialogue about mental illness and determine how we as a society can better identify and care for troubled individuals who pose a threat to themselves and others.  We should also take a deeper look at the possible role of the glorification of violence in our media while at the same time respecting First Amendment rights."