Obama to Unveil Initiatives to Curb Gun Violence - East Idaho News
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Obama to Unveil Initiatives to Curb Gun Violence

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GETTY P 11613 ObamaGuns?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1358329357552Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama will detail a broad plan on Wednesday to curb gun violence, setting the stage for what could be the largest Congressional battle over gun legislation in decades.

Obama is reviewing the recommendations of Vice President Joe Biden’s task force, which were delivered to him on Monday. 

According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, the president is also considering action he can take on his own “to reduce gun violence and prevent future tragedies” — a reference to last month’s mass killings by a lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six adults dead.

It was the shooting in Newtown, Conn., that spurred the president to push for a renewal of the 1994 ban on some types of semiautomatic assault rifles, also known as the “assault weapons ban.”

The administration is also looking into new legislation to expand background checks and put limits on high-capacity magazine clips.

At a news conference Monday, Obama told reporters that he wasn’t certain all that will be proposed will pass congressional muster but “if there is a step we can take that will save even one child from what happened in Newtown, we should take that step.”

It has been reported that the president has as many as 19 executive actions on the table that don’t need the approval of Congress.

However, the most contentious items on the president’s to-do list will require the involvement of lawmakers and are expected to face fierce opposition from gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association which has already vowed to oppose efforts to limit access to guns and ammunition.

“My starting point is not to worry about the politics,” Obama said on Monday.  “My starting point is to focus on what makes sense, what works; what should we be doing to make sure that our children are safe and that we’re reducing the incidents of gun violence.  And I think we can do that in a sensible way that comports with the Second Amendment.”

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