President Obama presents plan to curb gun violence
Posted January 16, 2013 9:38 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON (NEWS1130) – Even if it saves only a single life… he says he has an obligation to try.
US President Barack Obama has announced a $500 million package of executive actions and legislative proposals aimed at reducing gun violence.
“There are concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. We can’t put this off any longer,” he urged.
Obama wants Congress to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines, and close loopholes in the background check system for gun sales.
Obama is taking 23 executive actions that don’t require congressional action, including measures to encourage schools to hire police officers, increase research on gun violence, and improve efforts to prosecute gun crime.
“This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. Their voices should compel us to change,” Obama says.
The executive actions are part of a package assembled by a task force led by Vice-President Joe Biden.
It has been one month since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut killed 20 children.
