Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

A month after that horrific massacre, Obama also used his presidential powers to enact 23 measures that don't require the backing of lawmakers. The president's executive actions include ordering federal agencies to make more data available for background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence.

But the president, speaking at White House ceremony, acknowledged the most effective actions must be taken by lawmakers.

"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said. "And Congress must act soon."

Obama vowed to use "whatever weight this office holds" to press lawmakers into action on his $500 million plan. Still, even supportive lawmakers say the president's proposals - most of which are opposed by the powerful National Rifle Association - face long odds on Capitol Hill.

The president was flanked by children who wrote him letters about gun violence in the weeks following the Newtown shooting. Families of those killed in the massacre, as well as survivors of the shooting, were also in the audience, along with law enforcement officers and congressional lawmakers.

"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe," Obama said. "This is how we will be judged."

The president based his proposals on recommendations from an administration-wide task force led by Vice President Joe Biden. His plan marks the most comprehensive effort to address gun violence in more than two-decades.

The president is asking Congress to renew the ban on high-grade, military-style assault weapons that was first signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 but expired in 2004.

Other measures before Congress include limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines and requiring background checks for all gun buyers in an attempt to close the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows people to buy guns at trade shows and over the Internet without submitting to background checks.

Obama also intends to seek confirmation for B. Todd Jones, who has served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since 2011.

The president's long list of executive orders includes:

  • Ordering tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks and requiring federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
  • Ending limits that make it more difficult for the government to research gun violence, such as gathering data on guns that fall into criminal hands.
  • Requiring federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
  • Giving schools flexibility to use federal grant money to improve school safety, such as by hiring school resource officers.
  • Giving communities grants to institute programs to keep guns away from people who shouldn't have them.

———————————————

Local lawmakers weigh in

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

"I'm [a] hunter and I've always owned guns, and I'll be hunting pythons in the Everglades this week. What President Obama is proposing is not an assault on the Second Amendment. Why in the world would we not want to check to see if a person buying a weapon has a criminal record? And why wouldn't we want limits on assault weapons like AK-47s?

People are buying assault weapons to kill others, not to hunt. And when assault rifles are used to kill children, it's time for America to act. This is a problem that common sense and moderation should dictate what the law should be."

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

"As the father of four young children, I was deeply saddened by the murder of innocent kids at Sandy Hook. In the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, I expressed my hope that President Obama and our elected leaders would take a sober look at how we can prevent such heinous murders in the future. Doing so would require addressing the underlying causes of these evil acts, and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill without curtailing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

Nothing the President is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence. Rolling back responsible citizens' rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill. Making matters worse is that President Obama is again abusing his power by imposing his policies via executive fiat instead of allowing them to be debated in Congress. President Obama's frustration with our republic and the way it works doesn't give him license to ignore the Constitution.

Guns are not the problem; criminals with evil in their hearts and mentally ill people prone to violence are. Rather than sweeping measures that make it harder for responsible, law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms, we should focus on the root causes of gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

As a strong defender of the Second Amendment, I will oppose the President's attempts to undermine Americans' constitutional right to bear arms."

U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla. (District 15)

"Every violent act is horrendous, and we pray for those victims. What happened in places like Newtown, Conn., and in Taft, Calif. was tragic. We are keeping all of the families affected in our thoughts and prayers.

As with all initiatives, we must approach gun control legislation thoughtfully and with the gravity that it deserves. This is an important conversation. However, I am concerned when the president is not just proposing ideas, but is also surpassing Congress and issuing multiple executive orders without allowing these new laws to go though both the Senate and the House for full consideration. I have always been and will always be a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, and will carefully weigh all of the administration's proposals."

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. (District 5)

"The level of gun violence in our nation has reached a level that is simply unacceptable. Over the last few years we have witnessed Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, the Sikh Temple shootings in Wisconsin, the movie theater shooting in Aurora, and now Newtown. There is also unabated gun violence on the streets in every American city, whether that is in Jacksonville or Miami, Chicago or New York. Every year in fact, an average of roughly 10,000 people in America are shot and killed with a firearm.

In response to this endless spiral of violence, our nation needs to commit itself to review and strengthen our national gun laws, as well as focus on the importance of mental support services. In the past, both in 1994, and in 2004, I voted to close gun show loopholes and to ban assault weapons, and I would certainly vote to do so again in any future legislation that comes to the floor of the House of Representatives. Assault weapons are designed to be used in times of war by members of our nation’s armed forces; not against young children in our schools, or in movie theatres, our streets or shopping malls. This is not to say that all guns need to be banned entirely or that hunters should be disallowed to practice the sport of hunting. However, continued legalization of military style weapons will only lead to future tragedies. Moreover, crimes committed with these types of assault weapons put our law enforcement officers and First Responders in grave danger, since even the officers themselves are often times overpowered by these potent weapons.

President Obama’s Executive Orders, whose purpose is to increase the enforcement of existing gun laws and improve the flow of information among federal agencies to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and others who should not have access to them, are crucial to our nation’s response to gun violence, yet alone, they are insufficient. In addition to those initial steps signed today by the President, Congress needs to do its part to strengthen criminal background checks for all gun sales, and close the loophole that allows gun buyers to avoid these checks by purchasing their weapons at gun shows or from a private seller.

Additionally, I strongly support the President’s other legislative proposals, including a ban on assault weapons, limits on high-capacity magazines and new gun trafficking laws to crack down on the spread of weapons across the country.

In the words of President Obama, ‘if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, we have got an obligation to try.’”

The issue of gun violence in our nation is extremely complex:

The excessively high rate of youth unemployment (the unemployment rate for African Americans between the ages of 16-24 for example is currently just under 30%), lack of access to mental health services, and Stand Your Ground Laws in the state of Florida, which allow a person to use deadly force without first retreating from an unlawful threat, are all contributors to this problem as well.

In 2010, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Duval County's crime rate was 5,106 per 100,000 people. The county's murder rate had been the highest among Florida's counties with a population of 500,000 or more for eleven years in 2009, leading to widespread discussion in the community about the entrenched problems related to gun violence.

Two extreme examples of gun violence in the state of Florida stand out:

The case of Rodney Davis, a 17 year old teenager who was shot and killed by a man while he was at a Gate Food Post Store. The man who shot Rodney fired upon the teenagers because they were playing loud music while he was filling up his car and he felt threatened. Although convicted, he attempted to make the claim that he should be protected under the state of Florida’s Stand Your Ground Laws.

The case of Trayvon Martin – a 17 year old boy who was shot and killed by a self appointed vigilante in Sanford, Florida, while walking through the neighborhood one evening to pick up some items from a 7-11 grocery store.

These two striking, and terribly sad examples are a microcosm of the problems of gun violence that ravage our society and city streets each and every day.

Although not a cure all, the outline laid out today by President Obama is a very good first start."