Obama Tears Up, Calls For 'Sense Of Urgency' While Unveiling Executive Actions On Gun Control
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- With his emotional plea for America to embrace some gun control, President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for urgency in the fight against gun violence.
Speaking in the East Room at the White House, Obama defended his executive actions to tighten criminal background checks.
The president was moved to tears in an unusually emotional display during his announcement. He wiped a tear from the corner of his left eye when talking about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and the gun violence in Chicago where he lived for many years and served as an Illinois State and U.S. Senator.
"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," he said. "And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day."
The cornerstone of Obama's executive actions is a background check requirement for guns purchased from dealers even if they're bought online or at gun shows. The new federal guidance aims to narrow the so-called gun show loophole that allows some purchases to occur without a background check.
PHOTOS: Obama Speaks On Efforts To Reduce Gun Violence
"People are dying and the constant excuses for inaction no longer do," he said. "We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence."
Obama said that contrary to the claims of some Republicans, he's not plotting to take away everyone's guns.
"How did we get here?" he said. "How did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns?"
He said some constraints on freedom are necessary to protect innocent people, noting that the right to free speech also comes with the limitation that you can't yell "fire'' in a theater.
"I believe in the Second Amendment," he said. "But I also believe that we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the Second Amendment."
EXTRA: White House Fact Sheet On President's Executive Actions To Reduce Gun Violence
As part of the executive order, the Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is issuing updated guidance that says the government can consider someone a gun dealer regardless of where the guns are sold. Only federally licensed gun dealers must now conduct background checks on buyers.
The White House said the FBI will hire 230 more examiners to process background checks. It's an attempt to speed up the process so buyers don't fall through the cracks.
Obama will now take steps to promote his executive order, starting with a televised town hall-style meeting in Washington, CBS2's Dick Brennan reported.
Before Obama announced his executive action, Mark Barden, who lost his 7-year-old son, Daniel, in the Sandy Hook shootings, spoke to the crowd.
Barden first introduced the president in the Rose Garden, five months after the shootings in Newton.
"I still remember the first time we met, the time we spent together and the conversation we had about Daniel," Obama said.
"That was a very touching and overwhelming, emotional moment for all of us. You know, at the end of the day, Obama is a father," Barden told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
Parties Deeply Divided
Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on the issue.
Connecticut's Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called it "a commonsense issue" that "demands action."
"President Obama is doing just that," Malloy said in a statement. "It's time to step up – and we deeply appreciate the smart, commonsense steps the White House announced today. These actions will no doubt make a difference and make our communities safer."
Malloy signed a bill strengthening the state's gun laws back in 2013, in wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook. Gun law supporters have since advocated to further strengthen the state's gun legislation.
Malloy, who was at the White House for the speech, said he believes executive action is required, even though Congress has rejected it in past years, WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau reported.
"There was no Internet sales, there were no Internet sales of guns at that time, that was not a way that guns changed hands and yet now we know that hundreds of thousands of guns are changing hands on the Internet," Malloy said.
Malloy said he believes what the president is saying is that times have changed, and that we now need to require background checks to buyers of guns over the Internet.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who pushed for what was called the "toughest gun laws in the country" with legislation signed in 2013, applauded the president's action.
"President Obama's executive action to expand background checks, increase oversight, and close glaring loopholes in federal law marks a critically needed step forward for our nation," Cuomo said in a statement.
"Because Congress is so paralyzed on what seems the most common-sense of measures, the president was forced to act, and I think most Americans will applause that," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Many Republicans, however, are taking issue with the measures.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said no matter what unilateral action Obama takes, "his word does not trump the Second Amendment.''
Ryan said Obama has never respected the right to safe and legal gun ownership that the country has valued since its inception.
He said Obama "knows full well that the law already says that people who make their living selling firearms must be licensed, regardless of venue. Still, rather than focus on criminals and terrorists, he goes after the most law-abiding of citizens.''
Ryan said Obama's words and actions "amount to a form of intimidation that undermines liberty.''
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress will track the actions closely to ensure they follow the Constitution and federal law.
The National Rifle Association also criticized the president, saying Americans don't need any more "...emotional, condescending lectures that are completely devoid of facts," Brennan reported.
Presidential Candidates Weigh In
Both parties see Obama's actions as an opportunity to generate enthusiasm among primary voters.
GOP contenders promise that if they get elected, they'll swiftly repeal Obama's actions, which include steps to expand background checks for gun purchases.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump vowed to "un-sign'' the president's measures.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that on his first day in the Oval Office, "those orders are gone.''
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said that while Obama may currently hold the power of the pen, "my pen has got an eraser.''
Cruz is protesting Obama's executive actions limiting firearms sales by giving away an engraved shotgun.
The email includes a photo of Cruz wearing blaze orange hunting gear, holding a gun.
At the bottom it reads, "P.S. You can further support the cause by chipping in $35 (or another amount) after you enter to win my free, engraved shotgun."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said the president is acting unlawfully and showing disregard for the Second Amendment with his actions on gun control.
"We're safer because we have law abiding citizens that are packing. now that may not work in New York where all these sophisticated people hang out," Bush said.
On the Democratic side, front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted her thanks to the president and called his executive actions "a crucial step forward on gun violence.''
She added that the next president "has to build on that progress, not rip it away.''
Bernie Sanders said he'd continue Obama's actions if elected president and accused Republicans of placing the interests of the National Rifle Association ahead of children and innocent Americans.
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