The Truth About President Obama And Gun Control

Gun owners. Before you read this article, I have one word of advice. Relax. Your second amendment rights are still secure. However, I would be nervous as a gun owner. Why? If you read the posts and magazine articles, President Obama is coming for your guns. Nothing is further from the truth. Actually, President Obama is doing what he is best at during his tenure as President, he is being pragmatic with his approach to reducing gun violence.

What no one is telling you is that 100.000 people have been killed by guns in our nation this decade. Remember those police officers, mass shootings, domestic violence etc. Guns got in the wrong hands of the people who should not have them. Many times, people with mental health issues can get a gun when they should not be able to get a gun, and unsuspecting innocent people are killed. Not that complicated when you think about it.

So, I am going to provide you a list of the "scary" executive orders that the President enacted into law. His approach was reasonable, and well within the means of his executive powers. Carefully read them over. His approach is very similar to his approach to everything he has done successfully over the past 8 years. He looks at systemic problems and tries to change them. This is why we have seen huge gains in insurance coverage. The same can be said for the large drop in teen pregnancies, dependency on foreign oil etc. President Obama takes a very pragmatic approach and tries to change the culture of failed approaches that never solve a problem. Here is the list to prove my point regarding gun violence. Compare it to what you have "heard" online or in the news. This President is very good at looking at things from a much wider lens than we give him credit for.

Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions:
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).
9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
11. Nominate an ATF director.
12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.