Vacation over, Obama looking at ways to reduce gun violence
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, as they return from vacation in Hawaii.
Hawaiian vacation over, President Barack Obama says he is energized for his final year in office and ready to tackle unfinished business, turning immediate attention to the issue of gun violence.
Obama scheduled a meeting Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss a three-month review of what steps he could take to help reduce gun violence. The president is expected to use executive action to strengthen background checks required for gun purchases.
Republicans strongly oppose any moves Obama may make, and legal fights seem likely over what critics would view as infringing on their Second Amendment rights. But Obama is committed to an aggressive agenda in 2016 even as public attention shifts to the presidential election.
Obama spent much of his winter vacation out of the public eye, playing golf with friends and dining out on the Hawaiian island of Oahu with his family before heading back to Washington late Saturday night.
“I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That’s because of what we’ve accomplished together over the past seven,” Obama said his weekly radio and Internet address.
While in Hawaii, he also worked on his final State of the Union address, scheduled for Jan. 12. The prime-time speech will give the president another chance to try to reassure the public about his national security stewardship after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.
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Congressional Republicans have outlined a competing agenda for January, saying they will spend the first days of 2016 taking another crack at eliminating keys parts of the president’s health insurance law and ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The legislation is unlikely to become law, but it is popular with the GOP base in an election year.
The debate about what Obama may do on gun violence already has spilled over into the presidential campaign.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has called for more aggressive executive actions on guns, and rival Bernie Sanders said he would support Obama’s expected move.
The Vermont senator told ABC’s “This Week” that he believes “there is a wide consensus” that “we should expand and strengthen the instant background check.” He added: “I think that’s what the president is trying to do and I think that will be the right thing to do.”
Republican candidates largely oppose efforts to expand background checks or take other steps that curb access to guns.
“This president wants to act as if he is a king, as if he is a dictator,” unable to persuade Congress and forcing an “illegal executive action” on the country, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told “Fox News Sunday.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also on Fox, said Obama’s “first impulse is always to take rights away from law-abiding citizens, and it’s wrong.”
In the radio address, Obama said tens of thousands of people have died from gun violence since background check legislation stalled three years ago.
“Each time, we’re told that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, so we shouldn’t do anything,” Obama said. “We know that we can’t stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one?”
Federally licensed gun sellers are required by law to seek criminal background checks before completing a sale. But gun control advocacy groups say some of the people who sell firearms at gun shows are not federally licensed, increasing the chance of sales to customers prohibited by law from purchasing guns.
Obama plans to participate in a town hall Thursday night at George Mason University in Virginia on reducing gun violence. The president will take questions from the audience at the event moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Despite his deep differences with Republicans, Obama has cited two agenda items for 2016 that have bipartisan support: a free trade agreement with 11 other nations called the Trans-Pacific Partnership and changes in the criminal justice system that would reduce incarceration rates for nonviolent offenders. He often points out that the U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its inmates.
44 responses to “Vacation over, Obama looking at ways to reduce gun violence”
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Buy gun stocks. Every time Obama opens his mouth against guns people make money. Smith & Wesson (SHWC) and Ruger (RGR) are both up 70% in 2015.
Just buy only one share of each. Too risky.
Allegedly, per THE MEDIA, Guns were the #1 sales item at Holiday time retail shopping…
Every time a Democrat is elected President, gun loving idiots race to buy up as many guns as they can, because they are a frightened lot, and live in fear their precious metal bang bangs will be taken away. They still have their guns, they still scared.
Americans shop with a herd mentally. Lemmings all following each other.
You’re lying of course – that was not reported by any media outlet – but this is the kind of falsehood that you write to support whatever your fantasy of the day is.
I hate guns but you might want to read this:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/24/gun-sales-christmas-holiday-shopping-industry-boom
aomohoa – Yes, I’ve been reading about the bizarre connection between guns and Christmas gifts (what would Jesus do?) but the fact that they are popular is not the same as saying that they are the #1 sales item. That, obviously, is a lie. But FARKWARD lies about just about everything, so one more isn’t a shock.
The National Safety Council notes that guns are used some 2.5 million times a year in self defense against criminals, meaning that firearms are utilized to protect innocent lives in 80 times more cases than they are used to end lives.
It’s Monday morning. The market is down 400 points, Smith & Wesson is up 6% and Ruger is up 2.5%. This is where I’m a Obama fan.
Keep up the good work Obama. Soon the whole country will be armed. Does unintended consequences ring a bell.
Time for Obama to give his adult supervision to the do nothing Republican.
MTN, Obama’s “adult” supervision? Since when? Hey, have you reviewed the 2016 Agenda from the House? If the Republicans can accomplish their Agenda, it’s going to be an interesting 2016. The President and Congress will be heading in different directions. The first on the Agenda is repealing Obamacare and have the legislation on the President’s desk for his consideration. Gun’s? Executive Orders on the 2nd Amendment? I am very interested to see what the President does, if he does anything at all, but he will “talk” about gun’s.
Repealing Obamacare? Again? How much wasted time and money before the Republicans stop their insanity? It’s been 50, FIFTY, times so far. What’s the definition of insanity? According to Albert Einstein, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Seaborn, the difference this time is a number of Democrats will be supporting the Republican’s. 2016 is an election year and many of the Democrats will be in trouble if they vote against the Obamacare repeal legislation. Remember, all politics are local and many local Counties and States have citizens hurting because of Obamacare. And, the hurt will be for the long term and must be ended now. Oh, have you read the report on the editorial page on Obamacare?
I keep thinking that sooner or later, you’ll learn something – anything – about how the Constitution works. A man can have his fantasy!
Come on mikey, We’ve been waiting for an adult performance from Obama for nearly 8 years. Why would you expect it to begin at this late date?
My grandson, age almost 3, has invented a gun that brings people back to life when shot. Now that’s my kind of gun!
Start a Trust Fund for his Medical Degree and get him in Private School, forthwith…
Must be a shot of whiskey in that gun, young man? That will wake you up.
Nice pic !! Why the glum looks ??
DABLACK..Waste of time coming to third world living conditions of Hawaii. Nothing but bottom of the barrel accomplishments here.
Mr. President, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Don’t need a gun to kill someone. A bat, chopsticks or a frying pan can be used as a deadly weapon. Are you going to regulate those items?
Yeah, yeah. Guns are manufactured for the sole purpose of killing, the other items you listed are not. Big difference.
there are over 300 million firearms registered in the u.s.
if your statement were true there would be millions of firearms deaths a year in the u.s.
That’s true. Guns are just an object without the operator.
It’s sad when adults are brainwashed and made to be cowards to this degree by the NRA. You can’t possibly be so dense that you would actually believe that the incident in San Bernardino, for instance, could have been accomplished with bats, chopsticks or frying pans.
klastri has the unfortunate propensity of redefining terms to his own liking. The term cowards should be used to define the couple of murderers in San Bernadino who knowingly targeted innocents who were soft targets. Instead klastri has an axe to grind and applies it to the NRA instead. Klastri also turns a blind eye to the fact that California already has one of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Murderers and terrorists will always find a way to subvert the law – a distinction which is conveniently overlooked. These Muslim murderers knew that they would be killing unarmed people who had no way to defend themselves. I would bet that these people had wished they carried a firearm in order to defend themselves.
Like always, you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Zero. I wrote nothing about gun laws. I was writing about the illogic of someone equating guns with household goods. You seem to just make up whatever is needed to support your manufactured thought.
My my, someone did a good job on you… You’re reciting those bumper sticker talking points with barely a pause for punctuation. There are plenty of reasons to allow responsible citizenry to be armed — but you won’t get far with the broken record approach.
When a Democrat is president, republicans run to buy guns. Lol. When it’s a US President of color, it’s a doomsday situation,lol,lol.
Watch gun sales go through the roof again. Every time Obama opens his big mouth about banning guns. LOL!
The Wall Street insiders already have it rigged. Don’t bother with the crumbs.
Should President Obama employ an executive action to increase the hoops in the gun buying process, it’s best to look upon it as a bone thrown to his party’s faithful as he looks to cement his legacy. As he leaves the White House on his last day, he’ll be smug knowing his Supreme Court appointments could, at some future date, eventually accomplish what he really wanted to do.
For sure there DeltaDag, Hussein did appoint a couple of losers to the court that will carry on his destructive agenda , two females, one racist and the other extremely left.
Good, now we can get back to “normal” traffic jams. Really didn’t need him here making it worse.
So glad that this idiot and his crew has left the island. But damn, he’ll be back in 12 months. Now he wants to increase screening for gun buyers BUT doesn’t want to increase screening for the Syria refugees he wants to bring into the USA. He’s a criminal at best.
He’s an idiot- I’m sure you’re much smarter. Where did you lecture on constitutional law?
Here, it seems….
Where did he? From reports by others on the faculty of UC, he was a slacker who was considered lazy and unqualified to be a LECTURER (he was never a professor), who never attended faculty meetings. He didn’t lecture on Constitutional Law, he lectured on Saul Alinskey’s idea of Power Analysis.
University of Chicago official press statement:
“The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as “Senior Lecturer.” From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like Obama, each of the Law School’s Senior Lecturers have high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching. Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.” So there goes another categorical lie from the right-wing.
You missed the point there professor!
No, since you seem a little slow on the uptake, let me clarify the point for you: don’t call people names when you don’t have a foot to stand on.
If Obama really wants to reduce the number of people being killed by guns, he needs to change the culture of those who perform the greatest number. This would in turn also save a large number of minorities who live in the dense urban core from being shot. It seems that the more money we dump in to the cities, the greater the problem. Perhaps if instead of a free handout, a return to showing up, earning what you receive, etc. would lessen the number of fatalities and thus reduce the need for law abiding, tax paying citizens to feel they need to arm themselves. These “terrorist” and nut job attacks don’t account for too many deaths relative to gang related deaths, home invasions, etc.