Obama, wiping tears, makes new push to tighten gun rules

I agree with the president. As for the NRA their argument for more guns to counter the "Bad guys", well the US already leads the world in guns per per person. Are we the safest country in the world as a result? The President showed genuine emotion. This is foreign to those who think tweeting "thoughts and prayers" to victims of gun violence is sufficient.

nd tramples the constitutional checks and balances)

Please elaborate on the times he's done this, and if in fact he has been able to get away with it how it was possible for him to have done so. Are you saying Congress and the Supreme Court haven't been doing their jobs? Or are you just another right-winger throwing rocks and running away.

Re his tears, I think they're heartfelt. Not all US Americans are like the posters on this site who say gun deaths are the American way, that as long as they can collect and shoot guns they couldn't care less about people they don't know getting shot. Some US Americans actually are sad watching yet another way their country is falling apart.

“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” Obama

Damn straight.

And the gun nuts' friend, the NRA, continues their assault on the American.

how terrible sick

crock-o-dile tears, no doubt.

Seemed pretty genuine to me.

Because the democrats Super PAC, the U.S. MSM, is too busy perpetuating the myth that the majority of Americans support gun control when in fact all 50 states have some form of concealed carry provisions and 30 states -- like here in Texas -- have open carry laws.

I'm not understanding. Are concealed/open carry laws incompatible with stricter background checks?

Obama made it clear he does not expect gun laws to change during his remaining year in office. It sounds like Obama created "feel good" laws to make the gun-banners feel good about Obama.

Half correct. Some have asked why he hadn't issued this executive order soon after Newton - he was waiting for Congress to act. And waiting, and waiting - which makes Congressional criticism that he should wait for them to act quite ripe indeed. But I'm sure he cares little about how "gun-banners" feel about him; it is the general American sentiment towards gun control in general that is important. Even a single yard up the line of scrimmage can give hope to those seeking a saner America after he has left office. GOP presidential candidates are now forced to vocally oppose these common-sense measures, saying they'll rescind them once in office. We'll see how the electorate responds.

There are some Republicans who would support more careful checks, but why is it we never hear from them?

Very true. But to answer your question, because the corporate MSM don't make money off of compromise, their $'s come from keeping the sides far apart.

Contrary to Obama's wishes (demands?), American voters have rejected pro-gun-ban candidates and have recalled three of them in Colorado.

And innocent Americans continue to die in senseless shootings, with Colorado experiencing more than other states unsurprisingly. Sometimes American voters don't know what's goods for them.

@gelendestrasee - POTUS is an experienced constitutional law student AND professor. I seriously doubt he tramples on its checks and balances.

There are some Republicans who would support more careful checks, but why is it we never hear from them?

Because it's being proposed by Obama.

Talk to just about any gun user and they say they support expanded background checks, including everyone here. But it never happens which tells me the minority who control the vote on gun control are doing it against the wishes of the people, and they only do that if they think there will be no consequences. The gun supporters are the only one who can put pressure on those kinds of people, and obviously they aren't, so those voting against common sense gun legislation feel no pressure/consequences at all.

To put it another way, gun supporters say they support expanded background checks but they don't do much more than saying that on message boards.

trouble,

I'm against drone strikes too, but at the very least you can say that they take out bad guys too. What does the massively excessive proliferation of guns in America get us?

Either way, the two are completely different issues. Just because he's wrong on one, doesn't mean he's wrong on the other.

Simple T-Bird a great may repubs are simply stupid is the short & sadly correct answer & a great many have guns, some a hell of a lot & we see what goes wrong & yet they remain blind to the obvious...........

I wonder if Obama cries when he thinks about all of the innocent people killed in drone strikes? Recently leaked documents show that 90% of people killed are innocent civilians.

Some dead people are more important than other dead people, I guess.

Its gotten pretty sick to watch US gun nuts who have SEVERELY perverted the 2nd amendment............WAY WAY beyond what it was actually for!!

And they fight things like simple background checks etc it bloody bizarre!!!

The sad fact is until the US can pass REAL laws wrt to guns & gun ownership the bodies will continue to pile up...

And it seems republicans & their voters DO NOT CARE............

Thank goodness I don't live in the "" greatest "" country in the world!!!

And I grew up around guns, mind you rifles used for target shooting & hunting , never saw the need for handgun or the warlike rifles any idiot in the US can buy, its just nuts & the results are THERE for the world to see

If the Americans think that having arms in their attics and basements would protect them if their enemies were to invade them they are in for a surprise. First if the enemy reaches your shores that means your army has been demolished.

Any American who refuses to surrender their private arms would instantly face certain death which probably would include their loved ones. It's not like the colonial days when the revoluntary soldiers (terrorists?) could run from one tree to tthe other. This is the 21st century.

Lastly, it's so odd when an American president can decide at a whim to invade another country and yet cannot solve the gun problem in his own yard no matter how hard he tries.

Thunderbird, numerous Repubs are on record calling for greater enforcement of existing laws and more attention paid to mental illness. The problem is that these have always been simply vacant words - particularly when a Democratic president institutes these. What Repubs have long called for they consider treason unless they implement it.

Looking at the measures to be taken in his plan I don't see what the problem is:

Background checks for all gun sellers, overturning current exemptions to some online and gun show sellers

States providing information on people disqualified from buying guns due to mental illness or domestic violence

Increased workforce for the FBI to process background checks, hiring more than 230 new examiners

Congress being asked to invest $500m (£339m) to improve access to mental healthcare in the US

The departments of defence, justice and homeland security exploring "smart gun technology" to improve gun safety

Why would the Republicans object to any of that, and how does that trample on Americans' precious Second Amendment?

Obama’s voice rose to a yell as he said the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms needed to be balanced by the right to worship, gather peacefully and live their lives.

Spot on. Suddenly because of the NRA, innocent people's right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' has been steam-rolled by this scared protection of the Second Amendment. That is simply wrong.

I'm not understanding. Are concealed/open carry laws incompatible with stricter background checks?

To Texans, apparently "Yes". Why? Because if more rigorous checks were performed, more of the nutters would be denied weapons and that would shrink the size of their "rod" admiration club.

That makes no sense. Obama made it clear he does not expect gun laws to change during his remaining year in office. It sounds like Obama created "feel good" laws to make the gun-banners feel good about Obama.

It makes perfect sense if you had an even rudimentary understanding of how the U.S. Government works. I'm not going to waste time here trying to educate you, but I can at least point you in the right direction: Look up the difference between a LAW and an EXECUTIVE ACTION in United States Government. (Hint: The Executive Branch is prohibited from ever making laws.)

Meawhile gun dealers had thier best year yet & gun maker stocks took a major jump! Only in America,folks!

Texas A&M AggieJAN. 06, 2016 - 09:51AM JST On Tuesday, Smith & Wesson ended up 11.1 percent to $25.86 a share and Sturm Ruger closed up 6.8 percent at $65.54 Do the Nobel folks hand out awards for top gun sellers? If so, that is one that Obama has actually earned. . . .

Most of us refrain from celebrating idiocy.

Kudos to the Republican Asylum, they're taking Insane to the next level this election....

Its gotten pretty sick to watch US gun nut

On this point I can agree with you. The biggest arms dealer to the world is the US and under Mr. Obama, 60 billion worth of weapons to our peaceful and loyal ally Saudi Arabia. So one can understand why he's get all teary-eyed knowing that he is the #1 salesman of death.

I think the 2nd amendment is mainly meant to protect the people from their own government,

So that's how you "think." Do you have any evidence to back up your "thinking"? Have you ever read about the Whiskey Rebellion in its context to the drafting of the Bill of Rights, particularly as regards the Second Amendment? Check it out, and if your "thinking" is still the same, it's not evidence-based thought, it is objective opinion.

I am giving him another reason to have some tears :

http://droneswatch.org/2013/01/20/list-of-children-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-and-yemen/

Taking a page from the John Boehner playbook, it would seem...

You pro-gun nutters are mad. Plain and simple. It's fascinating to watch your level of self-delusion play out as you try to justify your own position and lampoon that of the anti-gun set. It doesn't affect me - I'm not American and will never live there, but as an outsider looking in who is pretty impartial I just want to inform you that you are mad.

The Constitution went out of style a decade ago. The U.S. Government doesn't work like that anymore. :)

crock-o-dile tears, no doubt. Obama plays for the cameras (and tramples the constitutional checks and balances) every chance he gets.

I also believe he was faking it. I can't believe someone who has been raining death and destruction on the world can cry over the death of 20 children.

“My hope earnestly has been that it would change the country.”

Interesting statement...

If the Americans think that having arms in their attics and basements would protect them if their enemies were to invade them they are in for a surprise. First if the enemy reaches your shores that means your army has been demolished.

I think the 2nd amendment is mainly meant to protect the people from their own government, it protects the other rights. Remove the 2nd amendment, and the other rights will follow.

On Tuesday, Smith & Wesson ended up 11.1 percent to $25.86 a share and Sturm Ruger closed up 6.8 percent at $65.54

Do the Nobel folks hand out awards for top gun sellers? If so, that is one that Obama has actually earned. . . .

Wiping back tears as he remembered children killed in a mass shooting, U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday ordered stricter gun rules that he can impose without Congress and urged American voters to reject pro-gun candidates.

Obama made it clear he does not expect gun laws to change during his remaining year in office, but pledged to do what he can to make gun control a theme in the months leading up to the November election to replace him.

.....“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” Obama said, tears rolling down his cheek.

That makes no sense. Obama made it clear he does not expect gun laws to change during his remaining year in office. It sounds like Obama created "feel good" laws to make the gun-banners feel good about Obama.

And - when did Obama learn to cry on command? Obama didn't cry in 2012 when he repeatedly discussed the Newtown school shooting. Obama didn't cry in 2013 or 2014 or 2015 when he repeatedly discussed the Newtown shooting. Three years after the Newtown shooting, Obama remembers to look directly into a media camera and cry????

Contrary to Obama's wishes (demands?), American voters have rejected pro-gun-ban candidates and have recalled three of them in Colorado.

There are some Republicans who would support more careful checks, but why is it we never hear from them?

Because the democrats Super PAC, the U.S. MSM, is too busy perpetuating the myth that the majority of Americans support gun control when in fact all 50 states have some form of concealed carry provisions and 30 states -- like here in Texas -- have open carry laws.

crock-o-dile tears, no doubt. Obama plays for the cameras (and tramples the constitutional checks and balances) every chance he gets.