Through tears, President Obama announces executive action on gun control/Photo courtesy of the L.A. Times
Through measure and slightness of anger, Obama made his plea for tighter gun control guidelines following a number of mass shootings around the United States.
Because Congress has not acted on altering gun laws since the 1990s, Obama made a number of moves through executive action to constrict rules surrounding guns.
These actions are merely tightly wound suggestions to give “guidance for federal agencies, not binding regulations.” To further enforce laws already on the books, Obama will need help from Republicans, and, well, we’ve seen how well that has worked for him in the past.
But while the GOP and some gun owners will decry that the president is attempting to saddle their right to own a gun, his announcement certainly contrasts with that line of thinking.
Because many are simply suggestions and not new rules, there is little to nothing that Obama may do to physically pry the gun from your coiled fingers, even if he wanted to.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is overhauling the background check system to make it more effective and efficient. The envisioned improvements include processing background checks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…”
Another guide offers that the “ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to by some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity.”
So far, nothing seems extraordinarily limiting.
Obama also wants funding for 200 new ATF agents as well as more money for mental health care.
Regarding mental health care, the president’s heart is likely in the right place, but the action seems slightly disheveled. There is a national stigma regarding mental illness, and when a mass shooting is executed by a person lacking color, it is usually trotted out as a solution to why said shooting occurred.
According to a recent study by a consortium of colleges and universities, researches found that those with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violent acts and not the inverse.
The study shows that a small percentage of violent acts committed by those with a mental illness were done so in a “school or workplace setting.” Meaning that those with a true mental illness are not prone to act out violently in public.
What’s damaging and concerning is that “30.9 percent – had been victims of violence in the same time period. And of those who said they were victimized, 43.7 percent said they’d been victimized on multiple occasions.”
We’ve also discovered that police officers aren’t being properly trained to deal with calls involving the mentally ill. According to the Washington Post, “at least 125 people with signs of mental illness had died in police encounters in the U.S. during the first six months of 2015.”
Arguing against more funding for the care of those with mental illness is destitute. Ensuring that we are fighting the correct battles isn’t, and this seems to be one front where the president deserves to be prodded and pushed.
Obama’s gun stance
Back in 2010, Obama signed legislation that allowed “people to carry loaded firearms into the Grand Canyon and other national parks.” Additionally Obama signed a bill that “allows Amtrak passengers to carry guns in checked baggage…”
That same year, prior to the majority of the events leading up to Obama’s gun control announcement, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave the president an “F” for his inability to stand up to the gun lobby.
Obama’s support of both bills was likely political as he didn’t want to show a lack of support for the Second Amendment. Still–it doesn’t look good in the face of what Obama is attempting to change.
One should not be seen as soft on guns if an avalanche of indifference towards violent tragedies involving guns fails to upset the status quo in America.
Yet that seems to be what the president is facing. He also should have to deal with his record on guns.
Attempting to control how guns connect to a buyer is one thing, allowing them on a train and a national park is another.
I’d like to imagine that the president is more nuanced than a singular act or notion. He said that he gets mad when thinking about Sandy Hook, and rightfully so. That tragedy shouldn’t be hued with inertia in his eyes because so many children were involved.
I wonder how he feels about his action on gun laws in the past as he attempts to corral chaos.
Today’s action was part show and part outrage. The show shouldn’t be confused with a want to be seen, rather it was an outward plea to show the results of inaction.
Obama likely knows that his announcements will do little to nothing to make a standing difference. He should also understand that his record on gun control and gun laws may have, or will in the future, contribute to further gun violence in America.
Then again, that simplification outweighs just how dire of a situation we may be in when it comes to guns in America.
-JH
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