Washington: President Barack Obama proposed a new assault weapons ban and mandatory background checks for all gun buyers on Wednesday in a bid to channel national outrage over the Newtown school massacre into the biggest US gun-control push in generations.
Rolling out a wide-ranging plan for executive and legislative action to curb gun violence, Obama set up a fierce clash with the powerful US gun lobby and its supporters in Congress, who are expected to resist what they see as an encroachment on constitutionally protected gun rights.
Obama presented his agenda at a White House event in front of an audience that included children from around the country. “While reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one,” Obama said.
Just days before his second inauguration, the president appears determined to champion gun control with a concerted drive for tighter laws and other steps aimed at preventing further tragedies like the one at Newtown on December 14, 2012. The proposals stem from a review led by Vice President Joe Biden, who on orders from Obama met advocates on both sides.
Obama’s plan calls on Congress for a renewed prohibition on assault weapons sales that expired in 2004, a requirement for criminal background checks on all gun purchases, including closing a loophole for gun show sales, and a new federal gun trafficking law — long sought by big-city mayors to keep outof-state guns off their streets.
He also announced 23 steps he intends to take immediately without congressional approval. The most politically contentious piece is Obama’s call for a renewed ban on military-style assault weapons, a move that Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, are expected to oppose. REUTERS
2 die in Kentucky college shooting
Agunman firing into a vehicle killed two people and wounded a juvenile on Tuesday in the parking lot of an eastern Kentucky community college. The campus was locked down for more than an hour while police searched the two buildings of Hazard Community and Technical College in Hazard, Kentucky to ensure there was no further danger. AP
Student opens fire at St Louis college
Astudent armed with a pistol opened fire at a St Louis college on Tuesday, shooting a school employee and then turning the gun on himself, police said. Both are expected to survive the incident at the Stevens Institute of Business & Arts. The student, in his early 20s, shot a man in his 40s, believed to be a school administrator. REUTERS
Gun lobby: Prez an elitist hypocrite
America’s powerful pro-gun National Rifle Association (NRA) has described President Barack Obama as an “elitist hypocrite” for providing Secret Service protection to his daughters but saying he was “skeptical” about deploying armed guards in schools. The provocative TV advert was released by the NRA ahead of Obama’s proposed announcement on gun control PTI
No comments:
Post a Comment