President Barack Obama revealed his proposals to lower gun violence during his gun control press conference on Jan. 16.
According to whitehouse.gov, Obama’s proposal included closing loopholes for gun sales, banning military-style weapons, banning magazines with room for more than 10 bullets, and increasing school safety.
Closing loopholes in gun sale legislation would result in requiring background checks for all gun sales. Individual gun sellers as well as commercial gun sellers will have to require background checks from buyers.
Obama also proposed strengthening the background check system by taking care of legal barriers which prevent states from reporting individuals who shouldn’t have guns. He also called for the federal government to provide states with incentives to share this information with the background check system.
On banning military-style weapons, Obama called on Congress to review and reinstate the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban as well as set a 10-round bullet limit on guns. He also wants legislation on armor-piercing bullets.
To increase public safety, Obama asked Congress to funnel more funding into law enforcement and to come up with gun trafficking laws and punishments.
Obama’s proposal includes allocating funding for research on gun violence. “I will direct the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] to go ahead and study the best way to reduce it [gun violence] and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds,” Obama said during the press conference.
He addressed the role of health care in gun violence. “We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator,” Obama said.
In response to school shootings, Obama proposed allocating funding to increase school safety through school psychologists, counselors, and resource officers (school based police officers). “We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans,” Obama said.
The President also asked Congress to confirm Todd Jones as the Director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives which has gone without a Director for six years.
After his speech the President signed 23 executive orders into law to combat gun violence.
Chioma Iheoma is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.