Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama unveiled an expansive gun reform package Wednesday, calling on the public to ensure Congress quickly follows through on what he called “common sense” legislation aimed at curbing violence.

In a public announcement held next door to the White House in the Eisenhower Executive Office building, Obama signed 23 executive orders, the most notable of which will strengthen the existing background check system by requiring additional information for databases.

Federal agencies now will be required to review their records to add information for background checks under the order.

The plan has a price tag of roughly $500 million. A progress report is scheduled for October.
Obama warned such measures were not nearly enough to lessen “the epidemic of gun violence in this country.” He urged members of Congress to take immediate action to ban military-style assault weapons, like the one used in last month’s massacre in Newtown, Conn., and ammunition clips containing more than 10 rounds, which were used in Newtown and in last summer’s movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo.

Congress enacted a similar ban in in 1994, but it was not renewed when it expired 10 years later.

Perhaps the most sweeping part of Obama’s plan would seek to regulate private gun sales by requiring universal background checks, meaning buyers in gun shows and other non-dealer settings would also be subject to screening. Supporters say such a measure would prevent existing military-style assault weapons from falling into the wrong hands, even if their manufacture is outlawed.

The announcement came just over a month after the Sandy Hook massacre left 20 children dead. Obama was joined onstage by a group of elementary school students from around the country who had written him letters asking for changes in gun laws.

“This is our first task as a society – keeping our children safe,” Obama said, pledging “to use whatever weight this office holds to make it a reality.”

But he made clear he would leave it up to Congress to draft the bills. House Speaker John Boehner’s staff could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but his spokesman told The Washington Post the appropriate House committee would review the recommendations.

If Congress adopts the president’s plan, the gun reform bills would be some of the broadest legislation in Obama’s presidency, and arguably his biggest undertaking since the Democrats lost control of the House in 2010.

Wednesday, he used the public spotlight to challenge the National Rifle Association and members of Congress from staunchly conservative districts. He acknowledged the battle to pass the plan will be a difficult one, and he said it cannot be accomplished without collective support from Congress and the public.

Obama asserted anti-gun control policies echoed by the NRA and other conservative factions do not reflect the views of most American gun owners.

The NRA was quick to blast the plan, discrediting it as an unrealistic solution to gun violence. In a statement, the association pledged to keep working to secure schools, improve the mental health system and support the prosecution of violent criminals.

“Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation,” the statement said. “Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.”

Vice President Joe Biden, who met with more than 200 groups during the last several weeks to help develop the proposal, also spoke to the audience, which included a victim of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting and Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra. “The world has changed, and it is demanding action,” Biden said.

Reach reporter Ian Kullgren at Ian.Kullgren@Shns.com