Just five days after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., President Obama launched a new task force, given a mission to develop comprehensive proposals to address gun violence. Vice President Biden is leading the panel, which is set to report later this month on the administration’s agenda.
Though we don’t yet know exactly what Obama and his team have in mind, the latest trial balloon suggests they’re thinking big.
The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.
A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told the Washington Post he’s been involved in the internal discussions and administration officials “are very clearly committed to looking at this issue comprehensively.” He added that White House plans are “a deeper exploration than just the assault-weapons ban.”
We can evaluate the details of the proposals on their merits once more substantive details are available, but in the meantime, it’s hard not to wonder how the administration intends to overcome fierce political opposition.
The concerns are not lost on the White House.









