Press Releases

The Administration has released a description of the Executive Actions President Obama will be taking to help reduce gun violence in America. Included in these initiatives are steps to expand and improve the conduct of background checks for prospective firearms purchasers, provide more resources for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), strengthen investigation and prosecution of gun crimes, require the reporting of firearms lost or stolen in transit, increase funding for mental health treatment, and study the development and use of technology to increase firearms safety.

Praising the President’s bold action to curb gun violence, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), which has jurisdiction over firearms issues, released the following statement:

“We commend the President for announcing that he will use his executive power to implement significant new initiatives that will make our citizens safer from gun violence.  These actions are not only appropriate they are lawfully within the Administration’s executive authority.  While this Congress has refused to act on this issue, the facts and the law demand action.  On average, 31 people are murdered with guns every day in America and more than 32,000 people die from gun violence in this country every year.  We cannot simply continue to stand by and do nothing, and that is why the President’s actions are so critically important.  Now it is time for Congress to step up to the plate to do even more by passing sensible measures to reduce gun violence.”

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Click HERE for more information on President Obama’s executive actions to curb gun violence.