President Barack Obama is taking 23 executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence that don’t require congressional action, including measures to encourage schools to hire police officers and improve efforts to prosecute gun crime.
President Barack Obama today signed 23 Executive Orders and suggested legislative work that should be developed in Congress.
23 Executive Orders
1. BACKGROUND CHECKS: Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
2. LIMIT LEGAL/INSURANCE BARRIERS: Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
3. IMPROVE STATE INCENTIVES FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS: Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
4. ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEW OF POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PEOPLE: Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
5. FULL BACKGROUND CHECK BEFORE RETURNING SEIZED GUN: Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
6. ATF LETTER TO GUN DEALERS: Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
7. SAFE GUN CAMPAIGN: Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
8. CPSC GUN SAFETY STANDARDS: Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).
9. GUN TRACES: Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
10. DOJ LOST/STOLEN GUN REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
11. NOMINATE ATF DIRECTOR: Nominate an ATF director.
12. TRAINING FOR ACTIVE SHOOTING SITUATIONS: Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
13. MAXIMIZE GUN ENFORCEMENT: Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
14. CDC RESEARCH GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC: Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
15. NEW GUN SAFETY TECHNOLOGY: Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
16. PHYSICIAN ADVICE TO PATIENTS: Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.
17. REPORTING BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS: Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
18. SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS: Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.
19. MODEL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS: Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
20. MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE: Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
21. HEALTH BENEFITS: Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on mental health.
LEGISLATIVE SUGGESTIONS
Gun Show Loophole closure: Require criminal background checks for all gun sales.
Reinstate and strengthen the assault weapons ban.
Restore the 10-round limit on ammunition magazines.
Protect police eliminating armor-piercing bullets.
Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime.
End the freeze on gun violence research.
Make schools safer with more school resource officers and school counselors, safer climates, and improved emergency response plans.
Help ensure that young people get the mental health treatment they need.
Ensure that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.
The New York State Senate passed a strict gun control bill Monday night. It’s the first gun control measure approved since last month’s massacre in Connecticut.