President Barack Obama is launching the mostsweeping effort to curb American gun violence in nearly two decades, and NewYork lawmakers easily passed the toughest gun control law in the country, asgun control advocates move to act swiftly after a massacre at an elementaryschool last month.
Obama is urging a reluctant Congress to ban military-styleassault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like those used in theDec. 14 massacre of 20 elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut.
The broad package Obama will announce Wednesday is alsoexpected to include more than a dozen steps the president can take on his ownthrough executive action. Those measures will provide a pathway for skirtingopposing lawmakers, but they will be limited in scope, and in some cases,focused simply on enforcing existing laws.
But Congress would have to approve the bans on assaultweapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 bullets, along with arequirement for universal background checks on gun buyers. Some gun controladvocates worry that opposition from Republicans and conservative Democrats, aswell as the National Rifle Association, will be too great to overcome.
The NRA released an online video Tuesday that called Obamaan "elitist hypocrite" for having armed Secret Service agents protecthis daughters at school while not committing to installing armed guards in allschools.
White House officials signaled that Obama would seek torally public support for the measures he puts forward, perhaps holding eventsaround the country or relying on Organizing for America, his still-operationalpresidential campaign.
For many Americans, gun ownership is a cherished rightprotected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Others argue thatthe country's founders in the 18th century could never have envisioned the sortof high-powered assault weapons used in the Newtown attack.
White House officials, seeking to avoid setting thepresident up for failure, have emphasized that no single measure — even anassault weapons ban — would solve a scourge of gun violence across the country.But without such a ban, or other sweeping Congress-approved measures, it'sunclear whether executive actions alone can make any noticeable difference.
"It is a simple fact that there are limits to what canbe done within existing law," White House spokesman Jay Carney saidTuesday. "Congress has to act on the kinds of measures we've alreadymentioned because the power to do that is reserved by Congress."
Obama will announce his proposals in a midday event at theWhite House, flanked by children who wrote to him about gun violence followingthe massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lawenforcement officials, mayors from across the country and supportivecongressional lawmakers are also expected to attend.
According to a lobbyist briefed Tuesday, Obama will presenta three-part plan focused on gun violence, education and mental health.
The president will call for a focus on universal backgroundchecks. Some 40 percent of gun sales take place without background checks,including those by private sellers at gun shows or over the Internet, accordingto the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The president will call for banning assault weapons andlimiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds or fewer, and also propose a federalstatute to stop "straw man" purchases of guns and crack down ontrafficking rings. He'll order federal agencies to conduct more research on gunuse and crimes, something Republican congressional majorities have limitedthrough language in budget bills, the lobbyist said.
Obama has pledged urgent action to prevent future massshootings, and his plan — coming just one month after the Newtown attacks — is swiftby Washington standards.
The president's framework is based on recommendations fromVice President Joe Biden, who led a wide-ranging task force on gun violence.Beyond the gun control measures, Biden also gave Obama suggestions forimproving mental health care and addressing violent images in video games,movies and television.
The vice president's proposals included 19 steps that couldbe achieved through executive action.
Obama may order the Justice Department to crack down onpeople who lie on background checks; only a tiny number are now prosecuted.Such a step has support from the National Rifle Association, which hasconsistently argued that existing laws must be enforced before new ones areconsidered.
He also could take steps ordering federal agencies to makemore data on gun crimes available and conduct more research on the issue,something Republican congressional majorities have limited through language inbudget bills. And he may order tougher penalties against gun trafficking andgive schools flexibility to use grant money to improve safety.
Gun control proponent Rep. Bobby Scott, a Democrat who metwith Biden on Monday, said the president is also likely to take executiveaction to ensure better state reporting of mental health and other records thatgo into the federal background check database. But he, too, acknowledged therewere clear limits to what Obama can do without Congress' say-so.
"You can't change the law through executiveorder," Scott said.
States and cities have been moving against gun violence aswell.
New York's Assembly voted 104-43 on Tuesday to approve a lawcalling for a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to try to keep gunsout of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats. Democratic Gov. AndrewCuomo quickly signed the measure into law.
"Common sense can win," Cuomo said. "You canoverpower the extremists with intelligence and with reason and with commonsense."
The NRA criticized the bill in statement. "These guncontrol schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on publicsafety and crime," the group said.
The measure also calls for restrictions on ammunition andthe sale of guns.
Under current state law, assault weapons are defined byhaving two "military rifle" features such as folding stock, muzzleflash suppressor or bayonet mount. The proposal reduces that to one feature andincludes the popular pistol grip.
Private sales of assault weapons to someone other than animmediate family will be subject to a background check through a dealer. NewYorkers also would be barred from buying assault weapons over the Internet, andfailing to safely store a weapon could lead to a misdemeanor charge.
Ammunition magazines will be restricted to seven bullets,from the current 10, and current owners of higher-capacity magazines will havea year to sell them out of state. An owner caught at home with eight or morebullets in a magazine will face a misdemeanor charge.
White House officials signaled that Obama would seek torally public support for the measures he puts forward Wednesday, perhapsholding events around the country or relying on Organizing for America, hisstill-operational presidential campaign.
"The president's success in using this strategy, Ithink, is pretty notable," Carney said of Obama's efforts to engage thepublic in previous legislative fights.
Still, it's unclear how much political capital Obama willexert in pressing for congressional action.
The White House and Congress will soon be consumed by threelooming fiscal deadlines, each of which is expected to be contentious. And thepresident has also pledged to tackle comprehensive immigration reform earlythis year, another effort that will require Republicans' support and one inwhich Obama may be more likely to get their backing.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber's top Republican, haswarned the White House that it will be at least three months before the Senateconsiders gun legislation. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat,has said immigration, not gun control, is at the top of his priority list afterthe fiscal fights.