Head of State not happy with current gun-control status quo
According to the National Journal Investigation, 2015 it was concluded that “the states with the most gun laws see the fewest gun related deaths.” Moreover, an academic survey conducted in 2013 found out that “A higher number of firearm laws in a state was associated with a lower rate of fire arm fatalities in the state.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are not enough” President Obama highly condemned the shootings that took place at a community college in Oregon on Friday.
Preventing gun violence through passing tougher laws has become a top priority for the Obama administration. The President urged Americans to persuade the Congress to pass tougher gun control legislations. However, critics believe that passing gun laws do not prove to be effective given the tough stance adopted by Chicago officials towards gun ownership in the 80s and 90s.
On Tuesday, Obama will address and discuss the importance of tougher gun laws with police chiefs in Chicago. The city has been a combat zone for pro and anti-gun forces for several years. The president has frequently called for legislation to end gun violence and has said that he will continually highlight the issue every time a shooting incident occurs.
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He said, “We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.” He has proposed a plan to address the issue which consists of 23 executive actions and three presidential memoranda, most of which will require an approval from the Congress
The plan includes taking effective measures such as background checks for all gun sales, sharing information about mental health issues of potential gun purchasers, provide monetary incentives to the states to work on and sharing information regarding criminal history and people prohibited from the purchase of guns, providing law enforcement additional tools, increase efforts to reduce gun violence, provide training for such situations, help schools in safety measures and improving overall mental health awareness through enhanced training sessions.
Obama in a strong speech, also highlighted countries such as Australia and UK for coming up with ways to prevent gun shootings before openly stated that the country he was leading happens to be the only advanced nation that lacks sense regarding gun laws. “Somehow this has become routine,” he said, before stating a cold yet correct statement: “There is a gun for roughly every man, woman and child in America.”
He called upon voters to make gun control an issue in the next elections. Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College. Seven other people were injured and the shooter was killed after exchanging gunfire with authorities.
What matters the most in this case however is not just the public opinion regarding the issue. The perspective and point of view of the members of the US Congress primarily matters the most as it ultimately comes down to the Congress passing the laws – something it has failed to do in all previous attempts.
Obama has asked his administration to look into the serious matter and come up with strong measures and powerful actions which he can address to the Congress so that they can be implemented. Obama also called on gun owners “to think about whether your views are properly being represented by the organization that suggests it’s speaking for you”.
Today, opinion is divided on gun control in United States. However, the fact that many people are lobbying against the power the National Rifle Association (NRA) enjoys, gives hope to many gun control advocates that in the coming months, the country might be able to make laws that will be beneficial to all the major stakeholders, the most important of which is the American public.
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