Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Obama unveils $500 million gun violence package

The president's announcements capped a swift and wide-ranging effort, led by Vice President Joe Biden, to respond to the deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. But Obama's gun control proposals set him up for a tough political fight with Congress as he starts his second term, when he'll need Republican support to meet three looming fiscal deadlines and pass comprehensive immigration reform. - AP
Discussion at Lucianne
What President Obama proposed on guns. And what might actually pass Congress - Sean Sullivan/Washington Post
At world’s largest gun show, few worries
about tighter controls: It's all about putting guns in the hands of sane people.
- Washington Post
FLASHBACK: In 1999, Obama wouldn’t support tougher prosecution for school shooters - Vince Coglianese/Daily Caller
In 1999, State Senator Barack Obama voted “present” on a bill that would require adult prosecution for discharging a gun in or near a school.

That legislation came as a response to the tragic Columbine High School shooting that year.

SB 759 provided that anyone 15 years of age or older charged with aggravated battery with a weapon in school or within 1,000 feet of a school would be charged as an adult.

It passed the Illinois State Senate in a 52-1 vote, with 5 members voting present — including Obama.

That vote followed a trend for the young lawmaker, whose controversial votes on crime legislation often raised eyebrows.

A Chicago Tribune editorial even accused Obama of being a “gutless sheep” for missing a vote on crime legislation in late 1999.