With the shock and horror from Newtown giving way to anger and calls for action, President Barack Obama will announce his first concrete steps Wednesday in addressing the raging debate about gun policy.
Obama plans to announce that Vice President Joe Biden will lead an inter-agency process to develop policy in the wake of the Connecticut elementary school massacre.
White House aides say Obama won’t announce major policy decisions Wednesday, but he will outline his administration’s path forward.
“These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change,” Obama told a packed auditorium at Newtown High School on Sunday.
“No single law, no set of laws, can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction,” he said.
Obama vowed: “In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens — from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators — in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have?”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has said she will introduce legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president supports that effort.
The “complex problem” also calls for “engaging mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, educators, parents and communities” to find solutions, he said.
Obama also wants to close “the so-called gun show loophole which allows people to buy weapons without going through the background checks that are standard when you purchase ” them retail, Carney said.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder echoed those remarks Wednesday. “There’s a range of things we need to do,” he said, adding that any one measure would not be adequate.
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article courtesy of CNN.com
