President Obama issues executive action to reduce gun violence, increase background checks - Entrepreneur Generations

President Obama is expected today to announce executive action designed to increase background checks for firearms and reduce gun violence, states a release from the White House. As part of the proposal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust, corporation or other legal entity."

President Obama's Fiscal Year 2017 budget calls for the hiring of 200 ATF agents to help enforce gun laws, states the White House. "ATF has established an Internet Investigation Center to track illegal online firearms trafficking and is dedicating $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network." The agency is also "finalizing a rule to ensure that dealers who ship firearms notify law enforcement if their guns are lost or stolen in transit."

Also, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "is overhauling the background check system to make it more effective and efficient" by hiring 230 employees to process background checks 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, while also "improving notification of local authorities when certain prohibited persons unlawfully attempt to buy a gun."

The Obama Administration is also proposing $500 million to increase access to mental health care, states the White House. "The Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing a rule to remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons."

Obama also directed the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security "to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology," states the White House. Obama "has also directed the departments to review the availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis and to explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety."

Even before the announcement was made, "Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail blasted the actions, and some gun rights advocates threatened to challenge them in court," David Nakamura and Juliet Eilperin report for The Washington Post. "House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) issued a statement Monday saying that even without knowing the plan’s details, he thinks 'the president is at minimum subverting the legislative branch and potentially overturning its will. . . . This is a dangerous level of executive overreach, and the country will not stand for it.'”

Obama, in a Twitter message Monday evening referring to the National Rifle Association, wrote: “The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage, but they can’t hold America hostage. We can’t accept this carnage in our communities."

Last month The Rural Blog excerpted a story from The Poynter Institute that asked journalists their opinions about carrying guns to public meetings.

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/1OxITQe President Obama issues executive action to reduce gun violence, increase background checks - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet