Obama, entering the last year of his eight-year presidency, said in a speech Friday that the federal government needed to take action to reduce gun violence, particularly in light of last month’s mass shooting in California and others in the United States since 2012.
“A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence,” Obama said in his weekly radio address.
“And on Monday, I’ll meet with our attorney general, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options,” he said, according to the Reuters news service.
Obama is believed to be considering requiring expanded background checks for gun purchasers and closing a loophole that allows gun buyers to avoid checks by acquiring weapons at gun shows, actions he says he can take by executive order rather than waiting for Congress to pass a new law.
The president, who has spoken repeatedly about the need to tighten existing gun control laws after the 2012 massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., last year’s killing of four at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., and last month’s mass shooting at a social services center in San Bernardino, Calif., told the nation that he had received “too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing.”
Obama said he would use “whatever power this office holds” to expand gun control, Reuters said.
“We know that we can’t stop every act of violence,” he said.
“But what if we tried to stop even one — what if Congress did something, anything, to protect our kids from gun violence” Obama said.
Friday’s speech coincided with the effective date of a new Texas law allowing licensed gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott challenged the president on social media, saying on Twitter “Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response? COME & TAKE IT.”
Ted Alcorn of the gun control advocacy group Everytown said his group recommended executive actions to Obama at a meeting in December, including clarifying federal license requirements for gun dealers.
