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              Obama on Gun Violence: 'This Time Must Be Different'

   by Dan Robinson

   ''President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have introduced
   new gun-control proposals, saying the nation has an obligation to do
   everything possible to prevent mass shootings.
   ''In announcing the gun-control proposals Vice President Joe Biden
   invoked the memory of the 20 children and six adults killed last month
   at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
   "No one will know for certain if this senseless act could have been
   prevented, but we all know we have a moral obligation, a moral
   obligation, to diminish the prospect that something like this could
   ever happen again," Biden said.
   'Obama and Biden, who headed the gun-violence task force that
   researched the proposals, spoke to a packed auditorium in the Old
   Executive Office Building next to the White House.
   In the audience were family members of victims of the Connecticut
   shooting. Behind Obama and Biden were four children who wrote letters
   to the president after the tragedy.
   '
   Obama said protecting children should not be a divisive challenge.
   "In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were
   violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our
   fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun - 900 in the
   past month.  And every day we wait that number will keep growing," he
   said.

   ''Obama wants Congress to approve universal background checks for
   anyone trying to buy a gun, limits on high-capacity ammunition
   magazines, and to ban assault-style weapons.
   He signed 23 executive orders aimed at strengthening the background
   check system, developing emergency response plans for schools and
   religious institutions, and addressing mental health issues linked to
   gun violence.
   The president said he respects the Second Amendment right to own guns
   and appealed to Americans, including responsible gun owners, to support
   effective action.
   "There are millions of responsible law-abiding gun owners in America
   who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or
   collection," Obama said. "I also believe that most gun owners agree
   that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible
   law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale."
   'The National Rifle Association (NRA) has accused Obama of attacking
   the Second Amendment and vows to fight gun control legislation on
   Capitol Hill.
   Monday the group issued a video criticizing the president's opposition
   to putting more armed guards in schools, and noting that the
   president's daughters receive Secret Service protection.
   The NRA video asked, "Are the president's kids more important than
   yours? Then why is he skeptical about plutting armed security in our
   schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?"
   White House spokesman Jay Carney condemned the ad, saying making "the
   safety of the president's children the subject of an attack ad is
   repugnant and cowardly."
   City and police officials from Philadelphia and New York,
   representatives of gun control groups, and family members of gun
   violence victims spoke with reporters.
   Annette Nance-Holt lost her son to gun violence in Chicago, President
   Obama's home town.
   "We need the American public to speak up about this issue and speak to
   the legislators to change their minds and change their hearts to do the
   right thing, because you too can be me and you can lose your only
   child," she said.
   "In order for change to happen on this issue the American public is
   going to need to make its voice heard," said Dan Gross, who heads the
   Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
   Obama said he knows the gun violence battle will be difficult,
   predicting that opponents will warn of a "tyrannical all-out assault on
   liberty" and try to block common sense reform.
   He said change will come only if Americans, including those in areas
   where there is a strong tradition of gun ownership, push
   representatives in Congress and say "this time must be different."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-on-gun-violence-this-time-must-
   be-different/1585349.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-on-gun-violence-this-time-must-be-different/1585349.html