President Obama's historic plunge Wednesday into the politics and
realities of gun control in America has mobilized advocates on both
sides of the issue.
But though his major proposals, from
banning assault rifles to more stringent background checks and
ammunition limits, are being rolled out in the shadow of the school
massacre in Newtown, Conn., their Capitol Hill prospects remain highly
uncertain given long-standing resistance to such efforts.
Both
Obama and Vice President Biden, head of the president's task force on
gun violence, said as much during their televised announcement of the
gun violence prevention initiative.
"I have no illusions about
what we're up against or how hard the task is in front of us," Biden
said. "But I also have never seen the nation's conscience so shaken [as]
by what happened at Sandy Hook."
Said Obama, nodding to the reality of politics, pundits, and politicians: "This will be difficult."
The powerful National Rifle Association unveiled its own campaign in advance of Obama's, referring to him as an "elitist hypocrite" in an online video that also noted that there are armed guards at the school the president's daughters attend.
Obama acknowledged that action he plans to take through his executive powers
— including ending the freeze on federal spending on gun violence
research and attention to mental health issues — is "no way a substitute
for action from Congress."
"Congress must act, and Congress
must act soon," he said, adding that "this will not happen unless the
American people demand it."
Obama said his administration will
not propose any action to reduce the number of weapons, estimated at
around 300 million, already in circulation in the U.S, or address
existing troves of high-capacity magazines.
The White House
also stayed away from proposing purchase waiting periods or federal gun
licensing or registration requirements that in the past have generated
heated opposition from those who oppose controls on guns.
"The
gun policy package that President Obama announced today shows his
genuine respect for the Second Amendment rights of law abiding
Americans," said Jonathan Cowan, head of the Third Way, a center-left
think tank, in a statement. "But it also makes clear that the Second
Amendment does not extend to terrorists, criminals, or the severely
mentally ill, and it does not apply to weapons of warfare."
House
Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said, however,
that "good intentions do not necessarily make good laws" and that any
action must not "trample on the rights of law-abiding citizens to
exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights."
The White House announced that the president will immediately initiate 23 executive actions,
including incentives to help schools hire "resource officers" and
nominating a top federal prosecutor to fill the long-vacant position of
director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But,
again, the tough, polarizing issues are the ones that the highly
polarized Congress — and one where the GOP-controlled House will wait
for action first from the Democratic-controlled Senate — has to
consider.
Depending on where you sit, Obama's push is either a
common-sense strategy to keep high-powered guns out of criminals' hands
or an executive power grab that seeks to restrict a constitutional
right.
