This was president Obama's most touching moment as he discussed his new measures to help protect Americans from gun violence. He shed tears when discussing the very young kids murdered in Sandy Hook.
The President acknowledged that most of the necessary gun control will not occur during his presidency. He admonished Americans to vote their values on this issue.
President Obama's proposed executive order will do the following:
- Require gun sellers who operate at gun shows and on the internet to be licensed, and subject them to criminal prosecution that can include up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if they are not.
- Close a loophole that allows gun buyers to acquire items like machine guns without background checks through a "gun trust", a legal entity originally created to allow gun owners to pass weapons to their family members. The number of gun trust applications grew from fewer than 900 in 2000 to more than 90,000 in 2014.
- Add and additional 230 Federal Bureau of Investigation staff to process mandatory background checks, and 200 more people to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to enforce existing gun laws.
- Make gun dealers responsible for reporting guns that go missing.
- Spend another $500 million to "engage" individuals with serious mental health issues in care.
1
1
