US President Barack Obama is to introduce a number of executive actions to try and reduce gun violence, beginning his last year in office with a defiant show of power.
The President will ignore Congressional opposition when he announces a series of unilateral steps to regulate gun sales and curb illicit purchases later.
The measures will see stricter rules on who must register as a gun dealer, and aims to narrow loopholes that allow buyers to avoid background checks.
President Obama spoke to the issue in his weekly address:
"Each time, we’re told that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, so we shouldn’t do anything. We know that we can’t stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one?" —President Obama: http://go.wh.gov/CUyLso #StopGunViolence
Posted by The White House on Monday, 4 January 2016
An average of 30,000 people die each year in America due to gun violence.
FACT: Each year, more than 30,000 American lives are cut short by guns. It's time to #StopGunViolence. pic.twitter.com/zcWmeNebTR
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 5, 2016
The White house has tweeted indications of the new rules:
FACT: Most gun owners agree with commonsense steps to help #StopGunViolence like strengthening background checks. pic.twitter.com/Lfv6yX6cCK
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 5, 2016
Worth sharing: @POTUS is taking action to make our communities safer from gun violence. #StopGunViolence pic.twitter.com/YeyCb1lGuy
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 5, 2016
BREAKING: @POTUS is taking new commonsense steps to help #StopGunViolence → https://t.co/tzn3mMYopc pic.twitter.com/oUwpNeVRNk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 4, 2016
