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President Calls for New Assault Weapons Ban, Universal Background Checks

Jan. 16, 2013 11:54am Madeleine Morgenstern

President Barack Obama signs executive actions to curb gun violence as Vice President Joe Biden and invited guests look on at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, on Jan. 16, 2013.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for new bans on “military-style assault weapons” and high-capacity ammunition magazines and for universal background checks for gun buyers.

Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and four schoolchildren who had written the White House in the wake of the Newtown shooting, Obama also signed 23 executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence.

Those executive actions include strengthening existing background checks by requiring federal agencies make more data available, nominating a new director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, mandating better reporting of gun crimes and directing the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence. He also asked doctors and other medical professionals to help by reporting threats of violence from patients with access to firearms.

Despite fervid speculation before Wednesday’s announcement about the sweeping measures Obama might take, he laid much of the responsibility on Congress to take action on his $500 million plan.

“To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act,” Obama said. “And Congress must act soon.”

The president vowed to “put everything I’ve got into this” but added, “the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.”

Obama said there will be those who call the government’s actions a “tyrannical all-out assault on liberty” but said such claims are unfounded. He said the majority of the American people agree with his proposals.

Obama concluded his remarks Wednesday by acknowledging the parents of 7-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary victim Grace McDonnell, a little girl who loved art. Obama said one of McDonnell’s paintings now hangs in his private office.

“We must act now, for Grace. For the 25 other innocent children and adults,” Obama said. “Let’s do the right thing for them and for this country we love so much.”

Before Wednesday’s announcement, the National Rifle Association vowed to wage “the fight of the century” against Obama.

“I warned you this day was coming and now it’s here,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre wrote in a fundraising letter to members. “It’s not about protecting your children. It’s not about stopping crime. It’s about banning your guns … PERIOD!”

But the organization issued a decidedly dialed-back statement Wednesday afternoon, saying it would “continue to focus on keeping our children safe and securing our schools, fixing our broken mental health system, and prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy,” the NRA said.

This post has been updated. Original minute-by-minute updates below:

12:14 p.m. Obama says he’s hung a painting made by Sandy Hook victim Grace McDonnell in his private office.

“We must act now, for Grace. For the 25 other innocent children and adults,” Obama says. “Let’s do the right thing for them and for this country we love so much.”

12:13 p.m. Obama: We have the right to worship freely was denied to Sikhs in a Wisconsin temple. The right to assemble peaceably was denied in an Oregon shopping mall, an Aurora movie theater. Denied to those at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary, on a Chicago street corner.

12:12 p.m. Obama says the most vital changes depend on congressional acting. Asks the American people to pressure their representatives.

12:11 p.m. Obama: “I will put everything I’ve got into this, so will Joe. But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.”

12:10 p.m. Obama says there will be some who warn of a “tyrannical all-out assault on liberty.”

12:08 p.m. Obama: I believe the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms. I respect the rights of sportsmen and hunters and people who own guns for collection and protection.

“We can respect the Second Amendment while preventing an irresponsible and law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale,” Obama says. He says these are common sense measures that have the support of the American people.

12:06 p.m. Obama: We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to someone else. Says Congress hasn’t confirmed an ATF director in six years.

Also calls for more police on the job and on the streets.

12:05 p.m. Obama: “Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines.”

12:04 p.m. Obama says Congress needs to require a universal background check for anyone who wants to buy a gun.

12:03 p.m. Obama says he’s signing a directive to strengthen the background check system, help schools, better reporting of gun crimes and enable the CDC to study gun violence.

12:01 p.m. Obama says in the month since Sandy Hook, 900 Americans have died from gun violence. “Every day we wait, that number will keep growing,” Obama says.

12:00 p.m. Obama says he started getting a lot of letters from kids after Newtown. Four of them are here today. One wrote: “I think there should be some changes, we should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook, I feel really bad.”

“These are our kids. This is what they’re thinking about. What we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them and shield them from harm,” Obama says.

11:57 a.m. Obama: “While reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one.”

11:56 a.m. Vice President Joe Biden says he spoke with 229 organizations of law enforcement agencies, gun advocacy groups, sportsmen’s groups and more to deliver recommendations to Obama.

“We should do as much as we can, as quickly as we can….some will happen immediately, some will take some time,” Biden says.

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Comments (500)

right-wing-waco
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:48pm
Background checks…. OK, good idea as long as they do not keep a list of buyers. Hitler had a list.

10 round magazines… When I go shooting I do not want to spend the day pushing ammo into 10 round mags. That is what 20 & 30 rnd mags are for. We could, of course, take encinom and let him/her load the mags.

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- hatchetjob
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 1:00pm
  Encinom is too busy unloading his/her diaper to help out with that.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 2:06pm
  I’m not going to run background checks on my friends and family, sorry. Dealers are required. I’m a free man, and I don’t have to bow to the emperor and do as he deems when I make a private consensual transaction, sorry, but that’s a pre-emption to a right, which has been struck down by SCOTUS many times.
  
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B-Neil
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:48pm
You youn guns have Congressmen and Senators. Start DOGGING the hell out of them. If you dont; learn how to speak Europian and provide the Government with Vasoline and condoms. Make your future easy.

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jeffex
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:47pm
“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people.” I explained that as long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” ADOLF HITLER ~ Mein Kampf

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raybaker35
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:45pm
Dont get mad! Turn the other cheek! Pray! God will take care of everything! Just like the election right Glenn?

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Jack76
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:45pm
How about a background check for Obama?

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Jack76
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:44pm
This is no longer the USA.

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Uncurable wound
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:44pm
Buck oFama!

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SiVisPacemParaBellum
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:43pm
Any one else note that all of the places that he listed as areas peoples”Right’s where denied” Where gun-free/gun restricted area’s that law abiding citizens would have a no chance/hard time carrying legally. Lesson being Gun’s protect my right from those that would try to take them away by force.

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AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:42pm
this is a friendly bite, a nibble. We need vet security in our schools, really. Better mental health security too.

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Xiccarph
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:42pm
Ah, again we saw the eternally over-used phrase “…if we can only save one life by doing this,…we must try…”
Sad sad sad…

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- ranepowel
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 3:40pm
  Until it’s the life of your own child, you won’t understand. There is no limit a parent should place on the lives of his/her children.
  
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Owt_Raged
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:41pm
He must be impeached before all of our rights have been removed!!!!

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John.Galt
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:41pm
12:01 p.m. Obama says in the month since Sandy Hook, 900 Americans have died from gun violence. “Every day we wait, that number will keep growing,” Obama says.

In the month since Sandy Hook, nearly 4000 Americans have died IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS. Yet, as far as I know, Obama is doing NOTHING to stop all these DEATHS.

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GhostOfJefferson
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:40pm
Glenn/Pat/Stu, I posted two posts on this thread over 30 minutes ago, and not a one has shown up. Am I a threat for questioning Glenn’s strategy, whereas statists who sneer and mock here everyday are worthy of having posts?

What’s going on “libertarian”, afraid of different ideas?

C’mon Glenn, take the gag off my posts please. And come join over at my site and talk to me man to man. I’ve been a libertarian, by name and ideas, far longer than you, and I’m not some crazy off the wall froot loop. Man up, and let’s have a discussion, and please, stop censoring me. (now of course this one will show up, heh).

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- sabate
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:49pm
  Ah…empty your browser cache and refresh the page….sheesh!
  
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- Max Power 1
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 1:47pm
  @Ghost. Same thing has been happening to me for weeks. Clearing the cash & refreshing the page is not the problem. I try to post important info from insiders concerning events, to inform readers here & they just won’t let me post them. For a while, I couldn’t post anything. Now, they are letting a few things through. There are truths they do not want posted here. The editors are cowards.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 3:02pm
  Hi Sabate,
  
  I’m quite familiar with cache and refresh, but thank you for assuming I’m a rube. I was referencing two posts which STILL have not shown up, long after subsequent posts I made have. Oh well, Glenn must be a bit upset that I challenged his methods. *shrug*
  
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- Dirtdigger67
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 3:05pm
  Yea a few of mine have not been posted but weren’t too bad . Not stuff that I feel they won’t post but still missing any way . Sometimes I get a little hard core but most posts go through so I don’t know maybe different editors or something?
  
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BehindTheMouth
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:40pm
The lefties are now using personnel attacks on anyone who supports gun ownership. I checked out the lefties response on PMSNBC .

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BSdetector
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:39pm
Molon Labe…

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crystalsky
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:38pm
Do we know how many children die in the U.S. everyday and how they are killed. is there a commercial or a website that shows this information. that liberals can see then there is no opposition on this. Unless they are just trying to take the guns away from U.S. legal citizens and there constitutional rights.

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FaithfulFriend
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:38pm
Dear President Barrack Obama,

I protect my children from harm and am fully prepared to do so with lethal force. No matter where we go or what we do, that is a responsibility I am prepared for and can respond from the first second a threat is realized.

Unfortunately at school they have no such protection, commitment or love. Or at least that’s what the sign suggests.

I full understand that from your life experience you know far less about firearms than you do about economics and freedom, which is certainly a gross failure you should simply admit to, but because you fail to truly see reality as it truly is while engrossing yourself in contradiction and ideological propaganda, I will pray for you and hope you find real wisdom and knowledge somewhere between those great big ears of yours.

Hope you are well.

P.S. Where are you taking that great big plane of yours next?

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cemerius
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:37pm
Obama: I believe the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms. I respect the rights of sportsmen and hunters and people who own guns for collection and protection.

NO WHERE in the US Constitution or in ANY of the amendments does it say “for hunters and collectors”!! I am sorry this is a terrbile travesity to the Supreme Court decision on the definitition of the 2nd Amendment based on it’s original intent!!! Get your heads out of your backsides people and start raising HELL with your Representatives to have the DEFINITION sent to the POTUS and to be read on both the House and Senate floors!!!

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oldsoldier10
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:37pm
Ubomba can go skraight to hells and JB can drive him there!

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Relic61
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:37pm
Obama has killed 156 children with drone attacks in 2012. But the left worship at his feet.

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Xiccarph
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:35pm
“These are our kids. This is what they’re thinking about. What we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them and shield them from harm,” Obama says.

They are thinking this, or they are being coached to think like that by parents, schools and the thousands of psychologists that have probably been sent into every school as evaluators??

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nocalifornia
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:35pm
Time for a 4.25 million armed man march on OUR capital!

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right-wing-waco
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:35pm
The proposals that he spoke of are the same as we live with here in CA. I can’t wait to see the list of banned firearms. It’s time to tell them NO!

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Blitz
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:35pm
And who has been saved by another gun law? Someone please advise.

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JoeE71
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 12:34pm
Here are my thoughts on the gun control thing: The statist politicians have been looking for some crisis for some time to implement their disarming of Americans. In fact, Obama & Holder even created a crisis when they sold guns to druglords in Mexico; this resulted in dozens of deaths, including a Federal Agent (why aren’t Holder and Obama in jail?). They are now using the Sandy Hook shootings as a way to get their way.

However, our rights come from God, not government. Therefore, the government has no right to give or take away those rights. That is what makes America unique and powerful.

It is by nature we have desires to protect ourselves. Prophets have said, & it is just common sense, that if we fail to protect our families we are cowards and faithless. That is our job and duty.

Obama & other statist politicians will follow past tyrants if they seek to disarm Americans. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and others all implemented gun control. If you were a tyrant, wouldn’t you want to disarm the populace too? And implementing gun control in degrees is no less innocuous. It always starts by banning assault weapons, then it goes to high capacity guns. Before long, you can only own a BB gun.

It is the duty of all Americans to make sure their elected representatives, including the President, follow the Constitution & not even dare to think about taking away our God-given rights.

I pray we maintain our rights & that Americans of all backgrounds stand up to the tyrants i

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- JoeE71
  Posted on January 16, 2013 at 1:15pm
  “Tyrants in Washington” is supposed to end my comment. We also need to be mindful of tyrants in our state, county, and especially in our city governments.
  
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