Obama Weeps As He Announces Gun Control Measures Via Executive Action, Is Immediately Denounced

Obama Weeps As He Introduces Gun Control Measures
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Barack Obama shed tears as he announced long-awaited gun control measures on Tuesday in the wake of countless mass shootings that have made the US an international outlier for gun violence. The proposals, made by executive action against the will of Congress, were revealed at the White House, the president flanked by families of the victims of many of the mass shooting that have blighted his presidency.

The action will improve the background check system for gun sales by expanding the number of buyers who are subject to criminal checks; give millions of additional dollars to mental health services; and kick-start smart gun technology.

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Obama wept while talking about the massacre in at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012

The action also sought to improve research into gun violence, increase domestic violence prosecutions and better keep track of lost firearms.

"Fort Hood, Binghamton, Aurora, Oak Creek, Newtown, the Navy Yard, Santa Barbara, Charleston, San Bernardino. Too many," the president reflected. Weeping as he referred to the children slain at the Newtown massacre in 2012, he said: “First graders... every time I think about those kids it makes me mad."

Chastising congress for its inaction despite the incessant deaths, Obama said the US is "not the only country in earth with violent or dangerous people" but it “is the only advanced country on earth that sees this type of mass violence with this type of frequency."

“It doesn’t happen in other advanced countries," he added. "It’s not even close."

"Somehow, we become numb to it and we start thinking, 'This is normal,'" he continued. “Instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarised debates. The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they can’t hold America hostage. Congress still needs to act. The folks in this room will not rest until Congress does.”

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US President Barack Obama delivers a statement on executive actions to reduce gun violence on January 5, 2016 at the White House

The background check proposals, which enjoy widespread support across the US, were immediately attacked by Republicans as unconstitutional, with legal challenges likely to follow.

"This is a dangerous level of executive overreach, and the country will not stand for it," said House Speaker Paul Ryan.

In a statement released after Obama's speech, the speaker challenged the president's "dismissiveness toward Americans who value the Second Amendment," saying: "At a time when the country wants the president to lead the fight against radical Islamic terror, this is yet another attempt to divide and distract from his failed policies."

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Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, tweeted: "Obama overstepping his constitutional authority to force his policies on the American people."

Jeb Bush, currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, released a statement condemning the move. "Rather than taking guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens as Obama and [Hillary] Clinton would like to do, we should focus on keeping guns out of the hands of the terrorists who want to kill innocent Americans,” he said.

Those sentiments were echoed by many of Bush's GOP rivals, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who promised to repeal the executive action once he's president. "When you live by the pen, you die by the pen," he said, adding: that his own pen "has an eraser on it."

Obama
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With tears running down his cheeks, U.S. President Barack Obama talks about the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and about his efforts to increase federal gun control in the East Room of the White House January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
(02 of17)
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US President Barack Obama gets emotional as he delivers a statement on executive actions to reduce gun violence on January 5, 2016 at the White House in Washington, DC. (credit:JIM WATSON via Getty Images)
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With tears running down his cheeks, U.S. President Barack Obama talks about the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and about his efforts to increase federal gun control in the East Room of the White House January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
(04 of17)
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With tears running down his cheeks, U.S. President Barack Obama talks about the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and about his efforts to increase federal gun control in the East Room of the White House January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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US President Barack Obama gets emotional as he speaks on reducing gun violence in the East Room of the White House on January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images)
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President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he talks about the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and about his efforts to increase federal gun control in the East Room of the White House January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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With tears running down his cheeks, U.S. President Barack Obama talks about the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and about his efforts to increase federal gun control in the East Room of the White House January 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden and gun violence victims, wipes tears from his cheek as speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, wipes away tears from his cheek as he recalled the 20 first-graders killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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President Barack Obama begins to wipe away a tear as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An emotional President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, pauses as he recalled the 20 first-graders killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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President Barack Obama pauses while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. Also on stage are stakeholders, and individuals whose lives have been impacted by the gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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His cheeks wet with tears, President Barack Obama, talks about the youngest victims of the Sandy Hook shootings, as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An emotional President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. Also on stage are stakeholders, and individuals whose lives have been impacted by the gun violence. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Former congresswoman and gun violence victim Gabrielle Giffords arrives to hear US President Barack Obama deliver a statement on executive actions to reduce gun violence on January 5, 2016 at the White House in Washington, DC. (credit:MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images)
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Former congresswoman and gun violence victim Gabrielle Giffords arrives before US President Barack Obama delivers a statement on executive actions to reduce gun violence on January 5, 2016 at the White House in Washington, DC. (credit:JIM WATSON via Getty Images)