Category Archives: Guns

May 5, 2013 · 7:19 PM

Gun Protesters Plan March On Washington With Loaded Rifles To ‘Put The Government On Notice’

This is absurd.  From where I stand, this proposed demonstration sounds like it will be a veiled threat  to scare pr0-gun safety advocates from supporting any sort of gun reform.

I truly abhor bullies…

Think Progress

Almost 900 people are RSVPed for a July 4th march on Washington, D.C. where protesters plan to carry loaded rifles. In D.C., openly carrying guns is against the law. But the organizer of the event, libertarian radio host Adam Kokesh, says the march is an act of “civil disobedience” that attempts to prove gun advocates’ point in the “SUBTLEST way possible.”

The event’s Facebook invitation describes the march as a nonviolent demonstration, “unless the government chooses to make it violent”:

This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event. We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny. We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent. Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & returning with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free.

There’s a remote chance that there will be violence as there has been from government before, and I think it should be clear that if anyone involved in this event is approached respectfully by agents of the state, they will submit to arrest without resisting. We are truly saying in the SUBTLEST way possible that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

It is not exactly clear whether Kokesh will carry through with the event, since he says it needs to reach a critical mass of 10,000 RSVPs first. However, the National Rifle Association is newly reenergized after the Senate filibuster of background check legislation.

Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald notes that Kokesh has expressed increasingly radical views on his show and on Twitter. Just this week, he called for the abolishment of the U.S. government.

Generally, open carry demonstrations have occurred in places with weaker gun laws, as well as a litmus test for how far gun violence laws can be challenged. Most recently, a group of menbrought their rifles to intimidate moms who rallied for action on gun violence. “Another group brought guns into a Virginia public library full of children, while demonstrators in Oregonbrandished assault rifles in the State Capitol.

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May 3, 2013 · 9:35 AM

Nutty New NRA president Jim Porter still fighting war against ‘Northern Aggression’

JIm Porter, who was named NRA President on March 2, 2013, spoke at The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Annual Meeting hosted by the Wallkill Rod and Gun Club on June 9, 2012 when he was the NRA Vice-President.

Did someone forget to tell the old fella that the Civil War ended in 1865?

Daily News

An Alabama lawyer, Porter calls U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ‘un-American’ and intends to fight in court to repeal tough new gun-control laws passed after Newtown.

The new president of the NRA is a good ol’ Southern boy, who sounds even crazier than the group’s gun-nut mouthpiece Wayne LaPierre.

Alabama lawyer Jim Porter has called U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder “rabidly un-American” and proudly spews the Confederate line on the Civil War.

In a June speech, Porter noted the NRA was “started by some Yankee generals who didn’t like the way my Southern boys had the ability to shoot in what we call the ‘War of Northern Aggression.’ ”

“Now y’all might call it the Civil War, but we call it the ‘War of Northern Aggression’ down South,” Porter said to the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.

He also advocates training all U.S. civilians to use standard military firearms so “they’re ready to fight tyranny.”

“Every time you take your nephew out to the gun club, every time you take your daughter skeet shooting, every time you take your grandchildren out, we’re passing on the legacy of freedom,” Porter said in the June speech.

Jim Porter says the NRA was ‘started by some Yankee generals who didn’t like the way my Southern boys had the ability to shoot in what we call the ‘War of Northern Aggression.’

He went on to say that fighting for the Second Amendment was “vital to the very fabric of this country.”

“We got the pads put on, we got our helmets strapped on, we’re cinched up, we’re ready to fight, we’re out there fighting every day,” he said to loud applause.

Nearly a year later, Porter — currently vice president of the NRA and chairman of its Legal Affairs Committee — is bent on overturning recently tightened gun laws that states, including New York, adopted after the Newtown massacre.

“At this stage in the NRA’s history, Jim Porter will be the perfect match for president,” said outgoing President David Keene.

“We will have to move to courts to undo the restrictions placed on gun owners’ rights in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Colorado,” Keene told The Washington Times.

Porter, son of former National Rifle Association President Irvine Porter, will be in Houston on Friday to kick off the organization’s national convention.

On the eve of the three-day event, the country’s latest shooting in a public place occurred just a few miles from where the group is meeting.

Cops said a man opened fire inside Houston’s Bush International Airport on Wednesday afternoon and died in a confrontation with law enforcement officials. Police believe the man shot himself.

Porter, a former Alabama assistant attorney general, is set to begin his two-year term on Monday.

“I am honored to be able to continue their work to ensure that the inalienable rights to keep and bear firearms for the defense of one’s country, family and self is protected for future generations,” he said in a statement.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre will remain the public face of the group.

The outspoken LaPierre has bashed all government efforts to curb gun violence through legislation.

Following the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, LaPierre proposed putting armed guards in every school in America.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said.

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May 2, 2013 · 7:24 PM

Two-year-old gets shot and killed and, yawn, it’s just another day in America

USA Gun Map : http://mariopiperni.com/

More on the shooting of a two-year old child by her five-year old brother from Piperni…

Mario Piperni

America’s gun culture takes another life.

Authorities in southern Kentucky say a 2-year-old girl has been accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother, who was playing with a .22-caliber rifle he received as a gift.

…the boy received the rifle made for youths last year and is used to shooting it. He said the gun was kept in a corner and the family didn’t realize a shell was left inside it.

It’s difficult to say anything meaningful any longer that adds to the conversation on guns. It’s all been said a thousand times…but I’ll say this anyway. Yes, there are no gun laws that one could put in place that would prevent parents from acting irresponsibly. No amount of legislation can overcome stupidity. Got it.

But is there not something seriously wrong with a gun culture where this statement,

“In rural southern Kentucky, far removed from the national debate over gun control, where some children get their first guns even before they start first grade.“

…is true? Under what set of rules is it acceptable to place in the hands of a 4-year-old a weapon that could blow off another person’s head with a twitch of a finger?

For anyone who doesn’t find that argument convincing, just know that another 86 Americans will be killed by guns today – 30 by murder, 53 by suicide, 2 accidentally and 1 by police intervention. Add to that the 86 Americans who were killed by guns yesterday…and the 86 who will be killed by guns tomorrow…and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that…

For a little perspective on the matter, you might recall that in 2010, drop-side cribs were outlawed because over the previous 10 years, an average of 3 children a year were killed by moving side rails in cribs. Three deaths a year was enough to move the government to act. Fortunately, there was no powerful crib lobby in Washington pushing to have drop-side cribs left in place because, “cribs don’t kill babies, people do.” Also, there was no 240-year-old constitutional amendment stating that, “A well regulated Baby’s Room, being necessary to the freedoms of a Happy Family, the right of the people to purchase drop-side cribs, shall not be infringed.”

There was none of that. There was only data that 3 children a year were dying and something could be done to stop it.

We know that 58 children, including 2, 3, 4 and 5-year-olds, have been killed since the Newtown school shooting…and yet, not a damn thing is being done to stop it or to attempt to reduce the number of preventable deaths. Nothing.

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April 20, 2013 · 2:31 PM

Tea Party Congressman Exploits Manhunt For Suspected Boston Bomber To Advance Weaker Gun Laws

In my humble opinion, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) generally has some serious issues…

Think Progress

A Tea Party Congressman has joined a growing listof conservatives are seizing on the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect to argue for looser gun laws. Appearing on The Blaze Thursday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) suggested that the Bostonians on lock down need high capacity magazines to protect themselves from violence. Via Kyle Mantyla at Right Wing Watch:

What hit me this morning when I heard the residents there around Boston and in the area where they thought someone might be were ordered to stay in their homes, businesses were ordered closed, public transportation was ordered closed. Let me ask you, if you’re sitting in your home and you know there are only two possibilities for people coming, one is law enforcement and the other is somebody who has already killed Americans and continues to do so, how many rounds do you want to be limited to in your magazine as you sit in your chair and wait?

Watch it:

Earlier this week, Gohmert claimed that the Boston tragedy should give pause to immigration reform advocates who seek to reform the system, an argument that several Republican leaders are now advancing.

 

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April 18, 2013 · 1:00 PM

Gun Violence Victims Detained, Put Through Background Check For Yelling ‘Shame On You’ At Senators

Shameful…

Think Progress

“Shame on you!” Patricia Maisch and Lori Haas yelled in rapid succession at the 46 senators who had just voted to kill a compromise amendment to expand background checks for gun purchases at gun shows or online. The women were sitting in the gallery with a large group of gun violence victims as the Senate responded to the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut by defeating the measure advocates and law enforcement officials consider crucial to keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

The pair has first-hand experience with the consequences of the broken system. In 2011, Maisch was hailed as a hero for disarming Tucson shooter Jared Loughner by preventing him from reloading a fresh magazine. Haas’ daughter Emily was shot twice during the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and survived, leading her to become a proponent of stronger gun regulations. But on Wednesday afternoon, the two women faced tighter scrutiny for interrupting a Senate proceeding than many individuals seeking to purchase guns.

As they left the Senate gallery, a police officer approached and asked them to follow him. The three walked downstairs to a public hallway, where they were peppered with questions: “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “What are your Social Security numbers?” The officer left to run a background check on the women, who were instructed to sit on a bench. Another uniformed officer watched over them, even escorted Haas to the bathroom and told her she couldn’t lock the stall door.

Sitting there, waiting for the officer to return, Haas stewed over the failed vote. “I just can’t fathom that these people don’t have a heart,” she told ThinkProgress in a phone interview. “If they had seen, just one miniscule of the pain I’ve seen from the Virginia Tech families and so many other families that I’ve worked with in the last 6 years, they couldn’t help but want to do something about stoping gun violence.”

An hour and a half later, another law enforcement official approached and quizzed the the two women further. He asked them about their intentions and where they were from, why they were in D.C., how long they planned to stay and when they were leaving.

The entire ordeal stretched for almost two hours — approximately 115 minutes longer than a background check at a federal gun dealer. Haas noted the irony of undergoing hours of questioning while permitting gun purchases without any screening at gun shows or online.

“The irony is not lost on me and it’s not lost on the American public,” Haas said. “Very ironic that an hour and a half investigation into two women shouting in the Senate gallery takes place and yet real criminals and other prohibited purchasers get willy nilly access to fire arms.”

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April 9, 2013 · 9:33 AM

Four-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Deputy’s Wife At Tennessee Cookout

Four-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Deputy’s Wife At Tennessee Cookout

Set aside gun control laws for a second.  The gun owner, a sheriff’s deputy was undoubtedly trained on the proper use and possession of a firearm.  How could this have happened?  What was the gun owner thinking?

TPM

Authorities say a 4-year-old boy grabbed a loaded gun at a family cookout and accidentally shot and killed the wife of a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy.

Investigators say Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning on Saturday was showing his weapons to a relative in a bedroom of his Lebanon home when the toddler came in and picked up a gun off the bed. Sheriff Robert Bryan says the weapon discharged, hitting 48-year-old Josephine Fanning.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. The child is not related to her or her husband.

Bryan says the shooting was a terrible accident and that within seconds of Fanning placing the gun on the bed, the toddler picked it up.

The gun was not Fanning’s service weapon and the sheriff says the deputy’s weapons are normally stored in a safe.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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April 3, 2013 · 9:36 AM

Head Of Gun Organization: ‘Time To Hunt Democrats’

The gun lobby will eventually “hang” itself  by making statements like this…

Think Progress

As the Senate prepares to take up a comprehensive gun violence prevention plan later this month, gun advocates have amped up their already inflammatory rhetoric against any additional gun regulations. Ahead of President Obama’s visit to Colorado on Wednesday to promote the measure, one local gun organization promised to give him and other Democrats a hostile welcome.

In an interview with NPR, former NRA lobbyist and founder of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Dudley Brown compared deer hunting season with election season, when gun owners would be free to “hunt Democrats”:

Brown complains universal background checks are just a step towards identifying gun owners so the government can seize their weapons, and he calls the 15-bullet limit on ammunition clips arbitrary. He’s promising political payback in next year’s election that could cost Colorado Democrats their majorities.

“I liken it to the proverbial hunting season,” Brown says. “We tell gun owners, there’s a time to hunt deer. And the next election is the time to hunt Democrats.”

The analogy between elections and hunting is a favorite among conservatives; former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was widely condemned for her website’s map placing crosshairs over vulnerable Democratic districts in 2010.

Brown left the NRA in the 1990s because he felt the NRA was “kissing up to politicians.” The NRA, at the time, blasted Rocky Mountain Gun Owners as an “extreme right gun group” and called Brown the “Al Sharpton of the gun movement” for his inflammatory approach. Since then, the NRA has been pulled much farther to the right and is much more aligned with the “extreme” beliefs of RMGO. Both the NRA and RMGO believe there is a UN conspiracy to take away guns. The NRA and Republican lawmakers have warned of “tyranny” and compared Obama to Hitler and Stalin.

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February 8, 2013 · 9:18 AM

Another day in the (gun crazy) U.S.A.

Gun Crazy Nation

Daily Kos is running a daily list on gun violence in America.  Following, is the latest installment…

Daily Kos

February 7, 2013 edition

Forest Meadows, Calif. — A 54-year-old man shot and killed his 17-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter with a Glock 9mm handgun before turning the weapon on himself late last week.

Plymouth, Wis. — A 59-year-old woman found dead in a barn about 8:30 a.m. yesterday was apparently shot by a male neighbor who later shot and wounded himself. He was listed in critical condition.

Los Angeles, Calif. — A former Los Angeles police officer wanted for the murder of a man and woman last Sunday has allegedly shot and killed a Riverside, Calif. police officer and wounded police officers from Riverside and Los Angeles. A manhunt is underway.

O’Fallon, Mo. — A 55-year-old woman was found dead at a home about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. She had been shot multiple times in the head. Police are looking for her 63-year-old ex-boyfriend.

Jacksonville, Fla. — A 46-year-old man was fatally shot while driving on a city street in what might have been a case of road rage. He was found in the driver’s seat of a crashed pickup about 7:50 p.m. Police are looking for a vehicle seen following the man.

Sandpoint, Idaho — A confrontation of some sort about 6 p.m. Wednesday has left a 36-year-old man fatally shot and a 35-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm. No word on the condition of the wounded man.

Granite Falls, N.C. — A shooting about 6:30 p.m. today has left one person dead. Police are questioning a person of interest.

Houston, Tex. — A man found shot and lying on the ground outside an apartment complex about midnight last night later died at a hospital. He had been shot several times.

Cleveland, Oh. — A 22-year-old man was shot and killed about 8:40 p.m. yesterday. He had been shot several times

Philadelphia, Penn. — A 23-year-old man is dead after he was shot at least once in the chest in a second-floor apartment Wednesday night.

Washington, D.C. — A security guard was shot when a 28-year-old man armed with a 9 mm handgun entered the headquarters of a lobbying group and began verbally expressing opposition to the organization’s policies. The guard and others nearby managed to subdue the intruder until police arrived. He was listed in stable condition.

Plainfield, Ind. — A man was shot at an apartment complex Wednesday night. Police later pulled over a car matching the description of a vehicle spotted leaving the scene. No word on the victim’s condition.

New Orleans, La. — A man was shot multiple times around 11 a.m. yesterday.
No report on the man’s condition.

Buena Vista Township, Mich. — A 5-year-old boy and his 46-year-old grandfather were shot during a robbery about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. A man approached the grandfather and his wife in the driveway of a home and demanded money before opening fire, striking the grandfather. One of the bullets went through a wall of the house and struck the boy in the leg. The boy was hospitalized. The grandfather was treated at a hospital and released.

Camarillo, Calif. — A 22-year-old male was injured by gunfire. He was treated and released from a local hospital.

Little Rock, Ark. — One person was reported shot at an apartment complex today. Police are searching for a suspect. No other details are available.

Miami, Fla. — A robber yanked a gold chain off the neck of an 82-year-old man sitting in his front yard yesterday morning before shooting him in the leg and fleeing. No word on the victim’s condition.

Chicago, Ill. — A 23-year-old man was shot in the back of his thigh about 6:55 p.m. yesterday. He had exchanged words with three others when one of the three opened fire with a handgun. The victim was in stable condition.

Chicago, Ill. — A 22-year-old man was shot in the arm about 1:30 p.m. yesterday. No word on his condition.

Orlando, Fla. — Two people were shot and wounded after someone opened fire and sprayed their vehicle as they drove away from a nightclub about 4:50 a.m. this morning. The injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Tempe, Ariz. — Five schools were put on lockdown while police searched for a suspect who fired shots at a car on the freeway in an apparent road-rage incident about 1:20 p.m. today. Police have one person in custody and are looking for another.

Charlotte, N.C. — A 15-year-old high school student was arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to school in his backpack.

Today’s sources: Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Detroit Free Press, Florida Times-Union, Houston Chronicle, KABC – TV Los Angeles, KNXV-TV Phoenix, Orlando Sentinel, Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Times- Picayune, Washington Post, WISH-TV Indianapolis, WSVN-TV Miami

Addendum for February 7, 2013If you want to reduce this daily slaughter, please call, write, email, or FAX your representatives in Washington, D.C. and tell them to support common sense gun controls.

You can get contact information here:

http://www.contactingthecongress.org

 

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January 20, 2013 · 2:21 AM

Limbaugh Tarnishes Civil Rights Movement To Advance Pro-Gun Agenda

Rush Limbaugh has never espoused truth, logic or common sense.  So, surely he has no incentive to start now…

Think Progress

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh sought to equate the fight for African American civil rights with opposition to gun safety on Friday, suggesting that the movement could have better protected itself from segregationists had it been armed. Limbaugh specifically signaled out Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a nonviolent civil rights activist who was beaten during the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

“Try this,” Limbaugh said. “If a lot of African-Americans back in the ’60s had guns and the legal right to use them for self-defense, you think they would have needed Selma? I don’t know. I’m just asking. If (Rep) John Lewis, who says he was beat upside the head, if John Lewis had had a gun, would he have been beat upside the head on the bridge?” Listen:

http://soundcloud.com/thinkpro/limbaugh-on-gunsLewis has issued a response to Limbaugh, noting that “Our goal in the Civil Rights Movement was not to injure or destroy but to build a sense of community, to reconcile people to the true oneness of all humanity.” “African Americans in the 60s could have chosen to arm themselves, but we made a conscious decision not to. We were convinced that peace could not be achieved through violence. Violence begets violence, and we believed the only way to achieve peaceful ends was through peaceful means.”

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr — a strict disciple of nonviolent resistance — was shot by an assassin in 1968. In the wake of his death — as well as the murders of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Malcolm X — Congress passed, the Gun Control Act of 1968, the nation’s first comprehensive federal firearms regulation. Unfortunately, gun advocates have seized on King’s legacy to prevent gun safety reforms and are hosting a Gun Appreciation Day for the weekend of President Obama’s second inauguration. Larry Ward, chairman of the event, claims that it “honors the legacy of Dr. King.”

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January 16, 2013 · 5:42 PM

Everything You Need To Know About Obama’s Gun Violence Prevention Proposals

Think Progress has laid out the President’s Gun Violence Prevention proposals in one neat package….

Think Progress

In a press conference on Wednesday, President Obama outlined a sweeping effort to prevent gun violence in the United States. Surrounded by children who had written him letters voicing their desire to see gun laws passed, Obama announced that he will sign 23 executive orders and bring a set of proposals to Congress.

The President referenced one child’s letter that read, “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.”

“I promise that I will try very hard,” he said.

Obama also condemned lawmakers who vocally resist any new gun measures, pointing out that the gun policies of Ronald Reagan were more reasonable.

The initiatives cover everything from mental heath, to gun safety, to blocking the most deadly firearms from making it to market. Here are some of the most important efforts the President introduced today:

1. Making background checks universal. Obama wants every single gun owner to go through a proper background check, so it can be determined whether they have a criminal history or diagnosed mental illness. He wants Congress to close the gun show loophole that allows people at gun shows, and private buyers of used weapons, to avoid getting checked. He will also, through executive action, urge private sellers to conduct background checks, even if they aren’t mandatory.

2. Improving state reporting of criminals and the mentally ill. While all states are required to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) people who should not have access to guns, some states are sluggish about putting the data into the system. Obama will put more money into the hands of the states so that they can improve their reporting systems, and issue stronger guidelines to let states know when they should report people. Obama will also, through Presidential Memorandum, work to make sure agencies are regularly entering data into NICS.

3. Banning assault weapons. This is likely the most difficult battle Obama will undertake. He wants to reinstate the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which outlaws military-grade weapons, like the AR-15 used by Newtown gunman Adam Lanza and by Aurora Theater gunman James Holmes. Obama wants Congress to pass the ban, and close some of the loopholes identified in its 1994 iteration.

4. Capping magazine clip capacity at 10 bullets. A military-grade weapon is dangerous, but so are its accessories: Obama proposes banning all extended magazine clips that hold over 10 bullets. Huge magazine clips allow a gunman to fire off hundreds of rounds without having to stop, even once, to reload. The high-capacity magazine ban was also part of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.

5. Purging armor-piercing bullets. The sale of armor piercing ammunition has been banned for quite some time, but is still legal to posess such bullets. Obama is calling on Congress to outlaw ownership and transfer of these bullets, instead of just the sale. Those who oppose any gun laws try to spin a ban on armor piercing bullets as a ban on deer hunting ammunition, but such ammo has the ability to penetrate bullet-proof vests, and is more colloquially known as “cop killer bullets.”

6. Funding police officers. Obama wants Congress to reverse its course of austerity for public employees by approving $4 billion to fund police enforcement around the country.

7. Strengthening gun tracking. In order to track weapons that are used for crimes, Obama will issue a memorandum mandating that all agencies trace back firearms. This means that any agency in the country must trace guns used in crimes back to their original owners, as a way to help collect data on where criminal weapons are coming from. Obama will also ask Congress to allow law enforcement to do background checks on guns seized during investigations.

8. Supporting research on gun violence. Obama hopes to be able to gather more information on gun violence and misuse of firearms, and use that data to inform the work of law enforcement. He also wants to restart research, which has been long blocked by the National Rifle Association, on how video games, the media, and violence affect violent gun crimes. The Centers for Disease Control will immediately begin these efforts, but Obama also is calling on Congress to add $10 million to the pot of funding for such research.

9. Encouraging mental health providers to get involved. In order to make sure that those with homicidal thoughts are unable to access the weapons with which to kill, Obama seeks to encourage mental health professionals to alert authorities to such people. He will clarify that doing so is not in violation of patient privacy laws. He also wants to dispel the idea that Obamacare prevents doctors from talking to patients about guns.

10. Promoting safe gun ownership. The administration will start a “responsible gun ownership” campaign to encourage gun owners to lock up their firearms. He will also work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make sure safes and gun locks on the market are effective. He’s also calling on the justice department to help him come up with new gun safety technology.

11. Funding school counseling. Obama is calling on Congress to fund the positions of 1,000 news school counselors. The funding will come both through the already-existent COPS Hiring Grant, and through a new Comprehensive School Safety program that Congress will need to sign off on. The latter would put #150 million into funding for new counselors and social workers in schools.

12. Encouraging safe, anti-bullying school environments. Over 8,000 schools could receive new funding — $50 million — under Obama’s plan to encourage safer school environments. Obama wants to help at-risk students by creating a “school climate survey” that will collect data on what services students need, and to remedy any problems by putting professionals into schools. The administration will also issue guidelines on school discipline policies.

13. Recognizing the mental health needs of low-income Americans. Medicaid recipients already qualify for some mental health services, but Obama would like to expand that service so that low-income Americans have the same access to professional help as those who have money to pay for it on their own. Obama will issue a directive to heads of state health programs, enforcing “mental health parity” — the idea that mental health should be treated as a priority as important as physical health.

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