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President Barack Obama held an emotional press conference in the Rose Garden this afternoon reacting to the failure of legislation to expand background checks on gun sales in the Senate. After being introduced by the father of a child killed at last year’s shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Obama attributed the defeat of the bipartisan background check compromise to “untruths” about the bill spread by the National Rifle Association. “The current leader of the nra used to support these background checks. So while this compromise didn’t contain everything I wanted or everything that these families wanted, it did represent progress. It...

Yesterday, the most modest of gun control proposals died in the Senate. It would have expanded background checks to people purchasing weapons at gun shows and online sales, enjoyed 90 per cent support among the public and came on the back of the tragedy at Newtown. Yet, despite all that it had going for it, the Toomey-Manchin bill raised just 54 votes – six short of the number necessary for passage. “This is a pretty shameful day for Washington,” said Obama afterwards. It wasn’t exactly a red letter day for him, either. Barack Obama is a lame duck president. Nobody...

Video at link

Following a series of amendment votes in the Senate, including the Manchin-Toomey Amendment expanding background checks that failed to pass, the President makes a statement to reporters on what the White House calls "common-sense" gun control.

This story should serve notice to anyone who really believes President Obama is really trying to work with Congress in any substantial way. He is interested in one thing and one thing only. He wants to have it all his way, or else. To that point, here is the story that shows exactly how Obama intends to proceed. (Fox News) "Less than 100 days ago that happened. ... Shame on us if we've forgotten," Obama said. "I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten." If you watch the video of the brief remarks at the White House,...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused President Barack Obama of using the Sandy Hook school shooting for political gain on Thursday.((snip)) "It is saddening to see the president today, once again, try to take advantage of this tragic murder to promote an agenda that will do nothing to stop violent crime, but will undermine the constitutional rights of all law-abiding Americans," Cruz said in statement.

President Barack Obama pushed back Thursday against suggestions that the prospects for passing federal gun-control measures are fading, admonishing Congress not to “get squishy” on the issue. The president, who appeared frustrated by lawmakers’ lack of action, made a forceful plea to remember the horror of the December massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and to take steps aimed at preventing future gun violence. “Less than 100 days ago that happened, and the entire country was shocked,” Mr. Obama said. “And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different....

<p>President Obama moved Thursday to put the muscle of the White House and his network of supporters behind a gun control package tracking toward the Senate floor, calling on voters to pressure Congress into backing it as the proposal runs into resistance on Capitol Hill.</p>

Obama is to deliver remarks on gun violence today from the White House.....

Of all the gun-control measures touted by President Obama on Wednesday, the one that got top billing was a dramatic tightening of background checks on gun purchasers. Obama himself said the need was urgent because “40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.� But before we make the most sweeping changes in federal firearms law since the 1960s, shouldn’t we at least examine the validity of that figure? It’s about as dubious as they come.The administration is focusing on background checks in an attempt to drive a wedge between staunch anti-gun-control absolutists such as the...

President Obama is tripling the number of Cabinet agencies with gun control law enforcement responsibilities in his new bid to track guns, adding six agencies to the three typically included--Justice, Homeland Security and Defense. Section 1.e of his executive order released Wednesday adds State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and Veterans Affairs. It reads: "For purposes of this memorandum, 'Federal law enforcement agencies' means the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama unveiled 23 Executive Actions that his administration plans to take on schools and guns. To be sure, none of these gun control initiatives would have prevented the Connecticut school massacre from occurring in December, although the restrictions will greatly infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans. MEMO FROM: Michael Hammond, GOA legislative counsel RE: Obama’s Gun Control Proposals DATE: January 16, 2013 THE PRESIDENT’S EXECUTIVE ACTIONS Here’s a brief list of Obama’s Executive Orders and my comments: (1) Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available...

WASHINGTON (AP) - 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,...

The following is a list, provided by the White House, of executive actions President Obama plans to take to address gun violence. - Followed by my observations on their relevance. 1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. - Why aren’t they already doing this? And are you including illegal aliens, because something tells me you aren’t. 2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. - Must be...

I had to come on to FR and post the following discussion that just took place at lunch that I had with a law enforcement agent that I am currently working with and a general practitioner who happen to be dining at a booth next to ours. The television was on as the President was giving his speech about his 23 executive orders. When the discussion arrived about mental health and giving up personal information under the HIPPA act. The physician stated that if Americans read about Obamacare a year ago they would have seen that the foundation was clearly...

I've owned firearms and hunted for 30+ years of my life and now some idiot from Kaiser Permanente is going to school me on gun safety tips? Really?? I feel so much better now! FUBO!

Gov. Rick Perry released the following statement regarding President Obama's executive actions: "The Vice President's committee was appointed in response to the tragedy at Newtown, but very few of his recommendations have anything to do with what happened there. "Guns require a finger to pull the trigger. The sad young man who did that in Newtown was clearly haunted by demons and no gun law could have saved the children in Sandy Hook Elementary from his terror. "There is evil prowling in the world - it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations, and finds its way...

January 16, 2013 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: President Obama today is taking action that a majority of Americans disagree with. He's going down a road a majority of people disagree with. He knows it. The question is, why? Why is Barack Obama literally trying to push people to snap? Why is he doing this? It's as though in some way he's attacking the very sanity of people in this country. Why is he doing this? Why is he deliberately making people so upset? What is driving him? Anybody got any ideas? I've been watching the children-as-human-shields show that is now going...

Obama Attacks the Second Amendment(from the Sandy Hook massacre forward)1/15/2013Obama announces 23 exective actions, asks Congress to pass gun lawsObama to Put More 'Counselors' in SchoolsObama Asks Doctors to Help Deal With GunsJay Carney: NRA Ad "Repugnant And Cowardly"W.H. Releases Letters from Little Kids Pleading for Gun ControlRobert Gibbs: NRA No Match For Obama Campaign ApparatusReport: Obama to propose federal funding for armed guards in schoolsRep. Sensenbrenner calls on Obama to denounce 'Bullet to the Head of the NRA' video gameOregon, Texas officials warn White House against enforcing new gun regulations1/15/2013Obama to announce most expansive gun-control agenda in generationsObama to...

President Barack Obama proposed a new assault weapons ban and mandatory background checks for all gun buyers on Wednesday as he tried to channel national outrage over the Newtown school massacre into the biggest U.S. gun-control push in decades. Rolling out a wide-ranging plan for executive and legislative action to curb gun violence, Obama set up a fierce clash with the powerful U.S. gun lobby and its supporters in Congress, who will resist what they see as an encroachment on constitutionally protected gun rights. Obama presented his agenda at a White House event in front of an audience that included...

Bob Schieffer somehow topped Chris Matthews during CBS News's special coverage of President Obama's gun control press conference on Wednesday, as he became the worst caricature of a foaming-at-the-mouth cheerleader for the chief executive. Schieffer lauded "one of the best speeches I've ever heard him [Obama] deliver", and compared Obama's new gun control agenda to Lyndon Johnson's push for civil rights legislation in the 1960s. The CBS veteran even went so far to liken the President's cause to the ten-year hunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and the difficult endeavor of winning World War II [audio available here; video...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of gunmakers Sturm Ruger & Co. /quotes/zigman/242215/quotes/nls/rgr RGR +4.02% and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. /quotes/zigman/87396/quotes/nls/swhc SWHC +3.32% rose on Wednesday after President Barack Obama announced a series of gun control steps. Ruger shares were up 3.5% at $49.67 and Smith & Wesson rose 3.8% to $8.75 as Obama laid out the measures. The push for greater gun control follows the massacre last month of children and staff at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn

According to a background briefer provided by the White House, President Barack Obama is asking doctors to help deal with guns. Here's the relevant passage: PRESERVE THE RIGHTS OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO PROTECT THEIR PATIENTS AND COMMUNITIES FROM GUN VIOLENCE: We should never ask doctors and other health care providers to turn a blind eye to the risks posed by guns in the wrong hands. ï‚· Clarify that no federal law prevents health care providers from warning law enforcement authorities about threats of violence: Doctors and other mental health professionals play an important role in protecting the safety of...

You’re visiting your doctor because you have flu symptoms. After checking your heart, pulse and other vital signs, your doctor turns to you and asks, “By the way, the federal government has authorized me to ask you, What type and how many guns do you have in your home?” Sounds like George Orwell’s “1984”? Wrong. It’s 2013. And if President Barack Obama gets his way by executive order, doctors across the country could play a key role in his new gun control initiative. On Wednesday morning, Obama released a sweeping 23 executive actions and orders he will take to limit...

The following is a list, provided by the White House, of executive actions President Obama plans to take to address gun violence. 1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. 2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. 3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system. 4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make...

America's never-let-a-crisis-go-to-waste Administration will strike again tomorrow with a series of restrictions on our civil rights when it comes to a Second Amendment the president is duly sworn to protect, not infringe upon.

The president of the United States will release a binder full of new gun-control executive orders on Wednesday. Instead of standing alone, bearing full responsibility for the imperial actions he is about to take, President Obama will surround himself with an audience of kids who wrote to him after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. This is the most cynical in Beltway theatrical staging — a feckless attempt to invoke immunity by intoning “it’s for the children” and hiding behind them. What has happened to the deliberative process in this country? Public debate in Washington has deteriorated into Sesame Street sing-alongs....

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1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. 2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. 3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system. 4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks. 5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full...

President Barack Obama announces 23 executive actions on gun control, separately asks Congress to pass gun-control laws Obama asks Congress to pass laws that would: require background checks on all gun sales; restore a ban on "military-style assault weapons"; ban gun magazines with capacities of more than 10 rounds; and toughen penalties on people who sell guns to those who can't have them Below are the latest updates as they come to us. Also, you can read our full story. [Updated at 12:43 p.m. ET] Senate Democratic leadership sources tell CNN that passing any new legislation will be extremely difficult...

For those of us following The Won's address to his subjects.

The following is a list, provided by the White House, of executive actions President Obama plans to take to address gun violence. 1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. 2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.