Obama Unveils Executive Action On Gun Control, Moved To Tears For Victims
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) — President Barack Obama- moved to tears while talking about the victims of gun violence- announced new gun control measures on Tuesday.
"If a child can't open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure they can't pull a trigger on a gun," said President Obama when talking about children as the victims of gun violence.
The executive actions the president is taking include: expanding background checks for those buying guns, updating the background checks system, boosting gun safety technology and providing more help to those with mental illnesses.
Click here to watch the full speech.
The president started off with a startling statistic while pinpointing the United States as a major hub for gun violence.
"Every single year more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns," said the president. "We are the only advanced country on earth that sees this mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency."
President Obama also addressed those who are concerned about their constitutional right to bare arms.
"We can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the second amendment," said the president.
He had a few words for those who oppose his execution actions on gun control.
"The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now but it cannot hold America hostage," said President Obama.
In a touching moment, the president spoke about the victims of gun violence, shedding tears as he said it angered him to think about the children killed.
The president's actions have brought gun violence to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race just weeks before the Feb. 1st Iowa caucuses. Republicans and Democrats are divided on the issue but it seems to be giving presidential hopefuls the opportunity to talk about it with primary voters.
In response to the president's announcement, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released a statement saying in part, "I congratulate President Obama for taking the responsible and necessary course to use every tool at his disposal to curb gun violence. In the meantime, Republican congressional leaders and Republican presidential candidates continue to do the bidding of the gun lobby and oppose commonsense measures to reduce the 30,000 gun deaths per year in our country."
Click here to read more about Campaign 2016.
