Obama to Unveil Broad Gun Control Plans Wednesday

By Philip Rucker and Sari Horwitz, The Washington Post

15 January 13

resident Obama will unveil a sweeping set of gun-control proposals at midday Wednesday, including an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and limits on the number of bullets that ammunition clips can hold, according to sources familiar with the plans.

The announcement, which press secretary Jay Carney said is scheduled for about 11:45 a.m. at the White House, is also expected to include a slate of up to 19 executive actions that the Obama administration can take on its own to attempt to limit gun violence.

The White House has invited key lawmakers as well as gun-control advocates to appear at Wednesday's policy rollout, according to two officials who have been invited to the event.

Joining Obama and Vice President Biden for the announcement will be children from across the country who wrote Obama letters after last month's elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Carney said.

Carney declined to provide details on the administration's gun proposals, and he acknowledged that there are "limits" to what Obama can achieve through executive action alone.

"I will not get ahead of the president in terms of what his package of proposals will include," he told reporters Tuesday. "I will simply note that the president has made clear that he intends to take a comprehensive approach."

Regarding executive action, Carney said, "It is a simple fact that there are limits to what can be done within existing law, and Congress has to act on the kinds of measures we've already mentioned, because the power to do that is reserved by Congress."

Obama said at a news conference Monday that he would present his gun proposals later in the week.

The moves signal that Obama intends to push ahead with an ambitious and controversial gun-safety agenda in the wake of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which killed 26 people, including 20 small children. The shootings, carried out by a lone gunman who also killed himself, have prompted a wave of demands for stricter gun-control laws at the state and federal levels.

"The issue is: Are there some sensible steps that we can take to make sure that somebody like the individual in Newtown can't walk into a school and gun down a bunch of children in a - in a shockingly rapid fashion?" Obama said at Monday's news conference. "And surely we can do something about that."

The emerging set of White House proposals stem from a month-long review led by Biden, who has been meeting with advocates on both sides before making the recommendations that were delivered to Obama this week.

The recommendations - many of which Obama has endorsed - are expected to include a tougher version of the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004; a limit on the number of bullets that magazines can hold; background checks for gun shows and other "private sales"; better database tracking for weapons sales; and strengthening measures aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of those with severe mental health issues.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that most Americans support tough new measures to counter gun violence, including an assault weapons ban, mandatory background checks and other policies.

But the efforts will face political head winds on Capitol Hill, where the National Rifle Association and many lawmakers from both parties oppose any significant changes to gun laws.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said in a radio interview this week that an assault weapons ban cannot pass Congress because of opposition from House Republicans.

Obama and his aides have said they are aware of the political challenges but have decided to push ahead with changes that they view as necessary in the wake of Newtown. To put pressure on Congress, the White House is working with its allies on a broad public campaign aimed at shifting public opinion and providing political cover for lawmakers.

Lawmakers who met with Biden on Monday said that the vice president is aware of the steep political obstacles to gun-control measures but that the White House has decided to push ahead.

"I think there's a commitment to do the big things," said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). "I also think that they're realists, and in addition to doing the big things, they want to make sure that they do as many of the effective things that we can find some level of consensus on."

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) said: "I don't think this is Joe Biden's first rodeo. They are well aware of the high bar."

The administration has also signaled that it intends to move aggressively on gun policy changes that do not require legislative approval. Obama on Monday pointed to federal data "on guns that fall into the hands of criminals and how to track that more effectively."

"There may be some steps that we can take administratively as opposed to through legislation," Obama said.