Gun violence has been breaking hearts in too many communities and families across the country. In fact, 2015 was a tragic year of deadly shootings. Terror in the church in Charleston, South Carolina, bloodshed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a fatal surprise in San Bernardino, California, to name a few.
According to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, at least 52 people in the United States were killed by domestic extremists in 2015, the highest number in two decades.Some of you may have watched the teary-eyed President Obama host an emotional press conference where he introduced a new group of executive actions to reduce gun violence.
The order has not been signed to legality but is designed to be a moderate commonsense order. Here are 11 points to know about gun violence and Obama’s executive order.
1.First things first, no one is going to snatch your guns from you.
If President Obama truly desired to take away your Second Amendment rights don't you think he would have done it so much earlier in his presidency? The president insists that his actions are not a plot to take away everyone's guns. This conspiracy theory has to stop.
2. Congress just kept saying "no!"
Many are upset about Obama’s use of executive action to side step Congress. However, Congress has repeatedly failed to take action and pass laws that would expand background checks and reduce gun violence. Obama said Congress, which blocked a tougher gun bill in 2013, still needs to impose new gun control measures
.3. A lot of people want this... like a lot.
While many Americans strongly support the right to bear arms, they also support specific restrictions.
4. There is clear evidence that stricter gun control is the way to go. Seems pretty commonsense to me.
States with stricter gun control laws have fewer deaths from gun-related violence.
The executive order states anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecutions. If firearms are bought from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet you must get a license and conduct background checks.
6. Safety first!
There is definitely an aim to make our country safer from gun violence. The President’s FY2017 budget will include funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws.
7. Helping those with mental illness? The order has that too.
The Administration is proposing a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care and The Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing a rule to remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons.
8. Seat-belts, toys and medicine bottles.
Obama says that he aims to make guns safe like everything else. Traffic fatalities go down because the National Highway Safety administration passes laws for people to buckle their seat belts. Toys for toddlers are now safe from being swallowed, and medicine caps are now child-proof. Obama plans to follow same basic principles to make guns safe like everything else.
9. Republicans are up in flames about this...
House Speaker Paul Ryan, said Obama's actions "will no doubt be challenged in the courts" and "can be overturned by a Republican President." Donald Trump weighed in the topic by saying, “They are not going to screw around with the Second Amendment.”
10. Democrats? Not so much.
There's a sharp partisan divide on the question, with 74 percent of Democrats in favor of stricter laws, while just 23 percent of Republicans feel the same way.
11. Americans are supportive by are still quite skeptical.
However much of the debate lies in the question “will this executive order change anything?” ln a recent poll, six in 10 Americans say these measures will not be effective in reducing the number of gun-related deaths in the United States. That sentiment is particularly strong among gun owners, 75 percent of whom say they doubt the changes will reduce gun deaths.
