Obama Creates Gun Task Force
President Barack Obama has called for quick action on proposals to prevent gun violence and has asked Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to head a task force and “come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than January, proposals that I then intend to push without delay.”
RollCall.com has the story.
Congressional Democrats have already offered numerous ideas since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting last week. The proposals include:
Assault Weapons Ban
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says she will introduce legislation early next year to reinstate the 1994 ban on assault weapons, which lapsed in 2004. House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., says he will push the proposal in his chamber as well. Feinstein is suggesting her new bill will be stronger than the original ban — a possible response to concerns from some gun control advocates that the previous law contained too many loopholes to be effective.
Ammunition Restrictions
Reps. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., and Diana DeGette, D- Colo., are lobbying for their legislation, which has languished in committee since January 2011, that would ban ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds. Feinstein favors including such limits on high-capacity ammunition as part of an assault weapons ban. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., says he will reintroduce legislation in January to ban the online or mail-order sales of ammunition.
Gun Show Loophole
Lautenberg has also vowed to try to close the “gun show loophole,” which allows people to purchase guns from unlicensed dealers at gun shows without going through a criminal background check.
School Safety
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., wants to allow governors the power to activate National Guard troops who could replace police officers at their desk jobs to allow more police to protect schools. She also wants to increase funding for schools to install tip lines, surveillance equipment, metal detectors and other safety measures. Another component of her legislation would create a task force between the Justice and Education departments to develop new school safety guidelines.
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