A Tearful Obama Announces New Executive Actions on Gun Control - 0 views
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"The United States of America is not the only country on Earth with violent or dangerous people," Obama said during a press conference surrounded by loved ones of victims of gun violence. "We are not inherently more prone to violence — but we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency."
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We become numb to it, and start thinking this is normal," Obama said. "And instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our polarized, partisan debates."
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"It doesn't matter where you conduct your business: from a store, at gun shows or over the internet. If you're in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks," the White House said in a statement emailed Monday night, outlining the policy.
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The executive actions also call for a $500 million investment to improve access to mental health services, as well as changes to bureaucratic rules that impede the ability of the current national background check system to tap into databases that track people who are banned from obtaining firearms for specific mental health reasons.
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"The gun lobby might be holding Congress hostage. But they cannot hold America hostage," Obama said.
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Gun violence, typically brought to the national spotlight in the wake of particularly brutal mass shootings, has been one of the few issues that has repeatedly moved the president to unabashed displays of anger and sadness in the public eye