White House Responds To Gun Control Petitions
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite ignoring petitions to the White House from U.S. citizens of all 50 States to peacefully secede from the Union, many of which met the signature requirement over a month ago, the White House instead chose to respond to gun control petitions that were filed much later than the petitions to secede.
The official White House response to the gun control petitions follows:
A Message from President Obama about Your Petition on Reducing Gun Violence
By Bruce Reed
In the days since the tragedy in Newtown, Americans from all over the
country have called for action to deter mass shootings and reduce gun
violence. Hundreds of thousands of you have signed petitions on the
White House's We the People petitions platform.
I'm writing you today to thank you for speaking up, to update you on
an important development, and to encourage you to continue engaging with
the White House on this critical issue.
First, you should know that President Obama is paying close to
attention to the public response to this tragedy. In fact, he sat down
to record a message specifically for those of you who have joined the
conversation using We the People. Watch it now:
On December 19, the President outlined a series of first steps we can
take to begin the work of ending this cycle of violence. This is what
he said:
We
know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and
political divides. And as I said on Sunday night, there's no law or set
of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.
We're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at
least as easy as access to a gun. We're going to need to look more
closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. And
any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our
hearts.
But
the fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for
doing nothing. The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence
doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence, and prevent the very
worst violence.
Vice President Biden has been asked to work with members of the
Administration, Congress, and the general public to come up with a set
of concrete policy proposals by next month -- proposals the President
intends to push swiftly. The President asked the Vice President to lead
this effort in part because he wrote and passed the 1994 Crime Bill that
helped law enforcement bring down the rate of violent crime in America.
That bill included the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.
As the Vice President's Chief of Staff, I'm going to do everything I
can to ensure we run a process that includes perspectives from all sides
of the issue, which is why I wanted to respond to your petition myself.
Two decades ago, as domestic policy adviser in the Clinton White House,
I first worked with Joe Biden as he fought to enact the Crime Bill, the
assault weapons ban, and the Brady Bill. I will never forget what a key
role the voices of concerned citizens like you played in that vital
process.
The President called on Congress to pass important legislation
"banning the sale of military-style assault weapons," "banning the sale
of high-capacity ammunition clips," and "requiring background checks
before all gun purchases, so that criminals can’t take advantage of
legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won’t take the
responsibility of doing a background check at all."
An issue this serious and complex isn't going to be resolved with a
single legislative proposal or policy prescription. And let's be clear,
any action we take will respect the Second Amendment. As the President
said:
Look,
like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment
guarantees an individual right to bear arms. This country has a strong
tradition of gun ownership that's been handed down from generation to
generation. Obviously across the country there are regional differences.
There are differences between how people feel in urban areas and rural
areas. And the fact is the vast majority of gun owners in America are
responsible -- they buy their guns legally and they use them safely,
whether for hunting or sport shooting, collection or protection.
But
you know what, I am also betting that the majority -- the vast majority
-- of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to
say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few
from buying a weapon of war. I'm willing to bet that they don't think
that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that
an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to get his hands on a military-style
assault rifle so easily; that in this age of technology, we should be
able to check someone's criminal records before he or she can check out
at a gun show; that if we work harder to keep guns out of the hands of
dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one in
Newtown -- or any of the lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns
and big cities all across America every day.
The President said it best: "Ultimately if this effort is to succeed
it's going to require the help of the American people -- it's going to
require all of you. If we're going to change things, it's going to take a
wave of Americans -- mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors,
law enforcement, mental health professionals -- and, yes, gun owners --
standing up and saying 'enough' on behalf of our kids."
So let's continue this conversation and get something meaningful
done. If you have additional ideas and are interested in further
engagement with the White House on this issue, please let us know and
share your thoughts here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/share-your-thoughts-reducing-gun-violence
Thank you for speaking out and staying involved.
Bruce Reed is Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden
