It is time to do something to prevent gun violence: Obama

Hitting the road once again in his trademark style, US President Barack Obama has said it is “time to do something” to prevent the kind of deadly shooting incidents that has been happening in the country killing innocent people, including children.

“We don’t have to agree on everything, to agree it’s time to do something. That’s my main message here today. And each of us have a role to play,” Obama said in his address to a public meeting in Minneapolis yesterday.

Obama has always hit the road and addressed people to garner support for his view point whenever that is being opposed by the Congress or hits a road block at the Hill.

A few weeks ago, Obama said that he took action on his own to strengthen the background checks, to help schools get more resource officers if they want them, and to direct the Centers for Disease Control to study the causes for violence.

But now it is time that the Congress takes the stand that it needs to take on this issue, he argued.

“We’ve been able to take some steps through administrative action. But while these steps are important, real and lasting change also requires Congress to do its part and to do it soon, not to wait. The good news is that we’re starting to see a consensus emerge about the action Congress needs to take,” he said.

“The vast majority of Americans — including a majority of gun owners — support requiring criminal background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun. So right now, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are working on a bill that would ban anyone from selling a gun to somebody legally prohibited from owning one. That’s common sense. There’s no reason we can’t get that done,” the US President said.

Obama said Senators from both parties have also come together and proposed a bill that would crack down on people who buy guns only to turn them around and sell them to criminals. It’s a bill that would keep more guns off the street and out of the hands of people with the intent of doing harm, he said.

“We shouldn’t stop there. We should restore the ban on military style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines. That deserves a vote in Congress — because weapons of war have no place on our streets, or in our schools, or threatening our law enforcement officers. Our law enforcement officers should never be out-gunned on the streets,” Obama said.

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