Mobile | RSS
Newsletter signup

National

  • 8 million immigrants to gain legal status in Senate bill
     WASHINGTON – About 8 million immigrants living unlawfully in the United States would initially gain legal status under sweeping legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office Today 6:59 pm
  • Zimmerman jury pool selected in Trayvon Martin death
     SANFORD, Fla. – Attorneys trying to pick a jury in George Zimmerman’s murder trial have selected a pool of 40 potential jurors who will go on to a second round of questioning.Today 5:08 pm
  • Report bashes teacher-training programs, rates colleges
    WASHINGTON – The nation’s teacher-training programs do not adequately prepare would-be educators for the classroom, even as they produce almost triple the number of graduates needed, according to a survey of more than 1,000Today 4:59 pm
Advertisement
Associated Press
The president and vice president during Wednesday's announcement.
Last updated: January 16, 2013 1:28 p.m.

Obama gun proposal at a glance

Associated Press

Proposals for curbing gun violence announced Wednesday by President Barack Obama:

Needs congressional action:

  • Requiring background checks on all gun sales. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says 40 percent of gun sales are conducted with no criminal background check, such as at gun shows and by private sellers over the Internet or through classified ads. Obama said there should be exceptions for cases like certain transfers among family members and temporary transfers for hunting purposes.
  • Reinstating the assault weapons ban. A 10-year ban on high-grade, military-style weapons expired in 2004. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says such a ban might clear the Senate but doubts it could get through the House.
  • Renewing a 10-round limit on the size of ammunition magazines.
  • Prohibiting the possession, transfer, manufacture and import of dangerous armor-piercing bullets.
  • Senate confirmation of a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The agency has been run by an acting director, Todd Jones, whom Obama will nominate to become director.
  • New gun trafficking laws penalizing people who help criminals get guns.

Executive order:

  • Address legal barriers in health laws that bar some states from making available information about people who are prohibited from having guns.
  • Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
  • Make sure that federal agencies share relevant information with the background check system.
  • Direct the attorney general to work with other agencies to review existing laws to make sure they can identify individuals who shouldn’t have access to guns.
  • Direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other research agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence.
  • Clarify that no federal law prohibits doctors or other health care providers from contacting authorities when patients threaten to use violence.
  • Give local communities the opportunity to hire up to 1,000 school resource officers and counselors.
  • Require federal law enforcement to trace all recovered guns.
  • Propose regulations that will enable law enforcement to run complete background checks before returning firearms that have been seized.
  • Direct the Justice Department to analyze information on lost and stolen guns and make that information available to law enforcement.
  • Provide training for state and local law enforcement, first responders and school officials on how to handle active-shooter situations.
  • Make sure every school has a comprehensive emergency management plan.
  • Help ensure that young people get needed mental health treatment.
  • Ensure that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.
  • Encourage development of new technology to make it easier for gun owners to safely use and store their guns.
  • Have the Consumer Product Safety Commission assess the need for new safety standards for gun locks and gun safes.
  • Launch a national campaign about responsible gun ownership.

Related

© Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Neither this material nor its presentation may be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Share

Advertisement