Obama Gun Control Proposals Unveiled: What's Your Take?

As the nation continues to grip with the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled what is being called the most ambitious gun control agenda in decades. During a press conference, he said the plan would initiate 23 separate executive actions aimed at curbing what he called “the epidemic of gun violence in this country,” The Washington Post reported.

According to the White House fact sheet, Obama’s plan includes:

• Reinstating and strengthening the assault weapons ban.
• Restoring a 10-round limit on ammunition magazines.
• Getting rid of armor-piercing bullets.
• Ending a freeze on research into gun violence.
• Providing additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime.
• Calling on Congress to pass a $4 billion proposal to help communities keep 15,000 police officers on the streets, as well as new gun trafficking legislation that would “impose serious penalties on those who help get guns into the hands of criminals."
• Making schools safer by giving communities the opportunity to hire up to 1,000 school resource officers and school counselors.

Reaction from Michigan politicians came quickly:

Gov. Rick Snyder released the following statement:

"It's a dialogue that's happening in earnest at the federal level. In Michigan, we are looking at the issue of violence from a holistic approach, examining the multiple causes and root of the problem.  That's why I have ordered a multi-departmental assessment of the state's services and needs regarding at-risk children, school security, and mental health that will hopefully lead to more answers and better safeguards while ensuring we're protecting the rights of law-abiding firearm owners."

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) released the following statement:

"I strongly support the efforts President Obama outlined today to curb the gun violence that plagues our nation. I have long supported legislation to restore the ban on assault weapons. I also have supported closing the gun show loophole to strengthen the background checks that keep weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, domestic abusers, and other dangerous individuals. I support our police agencies, who have implored us to make these changes.

“The steps the president outlined today are important in protecting Americans, while respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. The president is right. It’s time for us to act, and Congress should do so.”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) released the following statement:

“I applaud the President’s focus on strengthening background checks, helping to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals, protecting our children in schools and honoring our great traditions of hunting and sportsmanship.  It is also critically important that the President is focusing on mental health as part of a comprehensive plan to curb gun violence. While most individuals with mental illness are not a danger to themselves or anyone else, in the aftermath of the tragedy in Connecticut, and so many tragedies in the recent past, it is important we take appropriate action to keep our children safe, and strengthening our mental health system is a key part of that.  In the coming months we must take further action in Congress to make sure individuals living with mental illness and their families can get the care and support they need.”

The new congressman representing Bloomfield Hills, U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford, said:

“President Obama lives in a city with some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the country and, yet also has one of the highest rates of gun violence. The best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun who is trained properly. It’s important that we do thorough background checks to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. However, it would be dangerous to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens who want to purchase a firearm.

President Obama’s job is to execute the laws passed by Congress, not write laws from the Oval Office. Any regulations on guns should be debated in Congress, and during that debate I will be a strong advocate for gun owners and the Second Amendment.”