“GUN violence requires more than moments of silence. It requires action. In failing that test, the Senate failed the American people.” President Barack Obama didn’t mince his words in a tweet on June 21st, the day after the Senate failed to pass four proposals to tighten gun control. Ever since he came to power Mr Obama has tried his best to make it harder to get hold of a gun in a country where an estimated 300m guns (of which 20m to 30m are assault-style rifles) are in the hands of civilians. And with frustrating regularity his efforts have been thwarted by legislators.
On June 20th four proposals were up for a vote in the Senate. The Democratic Party’s two proposals included a “no-fly, no-buy” draft law, which would bar anyone on terrorist watch-lists from buying a gun; the other draft law would expand background checks of gun buyers from shops to online sales and gun shows. The Republicans proposed a 72-hour delay before people on watch-lists can buy guns, to give the government an opportunity to prove, through the court system, that the purchaser is a terrorist threat; their second proposal was to redefine mental...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/28U4ZfB
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