The White House on Monday unveiled a list of executive actions designed to reduce gun violence across the United States.
The package of administration actions President Obama intends to announce to the country on Tuesday includes 10 provisions under these four categories – Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks; Make our communities safer from gun violence; Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system; Shape the future of gun safety technology.
>>VIDEO: President Obama to outline executive action on gun violence
Here are five things the proposal calls for (as outlined by the White House):
1. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is making clear that it doesn't matter where you conduct your business — from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you're in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
2. ATF is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity.
3. ATF has established an Internet Investigation Center to track illegal online firearms trafficking and is dedicating $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.
4. The Administration is proposing a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care.
5. The President has also directed the departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to review the availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis, and to explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety.
The provisions have surprised some who thought the president’s actions would go farther.
The one thing those who support more rigid gun control won't see:
1. The administrative actions do not require every person who sells a gun to run background checks -- disappointing those who want the so-called "gun show loophole" completely closed. Current federal law exempts from license requirements anyone who sells guns occasionally as a hobby or as part of maintaining a collection. The provisions in the president's plan hopes to require more people to have a license and run background checks by redefining the term "dealer" using several factors including how quickly a person can sell guns they acquire, how often and how many guns they sell, and what they make on the sale of the guns.
To see the White House paper on the president's actions, click here.
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