In today’s White House event, after high-fives with the four children on the stage, President Obama walked over to the onstage desk and exercised executive power, signing 23 measures aimed at minimizing gun violence in the U.S. -- while four other proposals, which include a ban on assault rifles and minimizing magazine capacity, are on the legislative table for Congress to consider and approve.
Some of the measures signed by the president include universal background checks, improving the flow of information between federal agencies, tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks, and a mental health check initiative to help identify those who could potentially commit the type of atrocity committed by Adam Lanza -- details on how such measures will be implemented were not immediately divulged.
[Related: Obama Calls for Broad Action on Guns ]
Today’s White House announcement came only hours after Governor Cuomo of New York passed the toughest gun control laws in the country -- which whether intentionally or not shows support for the president’s actions. New York’s tough gun control approval seems more like a preventive action, rather than an after effect reaction -- since its gun related homicides was said to be reaching a historic low. According to the latest NYPD statistics, in 2012, there were 8.5% less shooting incidents, and 10.2% less shooting victims.
[Related: New York City Murder Rate 2012: NYPD Says Number Of Homicides This Year On Pace To Reach Historic Low ]
The New York gun control legislation signed into law on Tuesday, by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, not only strengthens a ban on assault-style rifles, but also outlaws high-capacity magazine clips, extends background checks including purchasing ammunition and will also aid in identifying mentally ill individuals to prevent them from purchasing weapons -- measures that sound no different than those being pushed by President Obama.
Since Vice President’s Biden announcement last week of providing the president with a list of recommendations for stricter gun laws, there has been a surge in gun sales -- surging yet higher after New York’s passing of the strictest gun laws in the country.
At the Buffalo Gun Center in the suburb of Cheektowaga, people waited for hours to get through the doors and purchase guns. Jim Hanley, one of the customers waiting on line outside the Buffalo Gun Center says “Governor Cuomo and Barack Hussein Obama are two of the best gun salesmen in the history of the world.”
The NRA has made it quite clear that the president is simply impinging on the country’s second amendment rights and have responded by releasing an ad involving the president’s daughters and calling him an elitist hypocrite. The ad has been met with negative criticism by those who feel it was far overreaching.
The White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released a direct response saying; “Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight, but to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.”
[Related: NRA ad attacked for including President Obama's daughters ]
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