By The Huffington Post News Editors
With red state Democratic Senators remaining skittish about embracing Obama’s gun proposals, at least two top Democratic donors are stepping forward and vowing to withhold any and all future financial contributions from any Democrats who don’t support the centerpiece of Obama’s plan: Expanded background checks.
This afternoon, the President placed calls to Senator Graham, Senator McCain, and Senator Rubio to discuss their shared commitment to bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform and to commend the Senators for the bipartisan progress that continues to be made by the Gang of 8 on this important issue. During the calls, which build on conversations that have taken place at the staff level, the President reiterated that he remains supportive of the effort underway in Congress, and that he hopes that they can produce a bill as soon as possible that reflects shared core principles on reform. The President has made clear that he believes commonsense reform needs to include strengthening border security, creating an earned path to citizenship, holding employers accountable, and streamlining legal immigration. As the President made clear when he met with Democratic Senators involved in the process last week, that while he is pleased with the progress and supportive of the effort to date, he is prepared to submit his own legislation if Congress fails to act. He thanked the Senators for their leadership, and made clear that he and his staff look forward to continuing to work together with their teams to achieve needed reform.
The President did not speak with Senator Flake, who is traveling, but he looks forward to discussing the issue with him in the near future.
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Source: White House Press Office
It’s been two weeks since President Obama released his plan for reducing gun violence, and during that time, the President and the Vice President have kept on pushing for Congress to take common-sense steps to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence. They’ve spoken to those who are on the front lines dealing with gun violence every day, like mayors and law enforcement officers; heard from ordinary Americans; continued to meet with experts about effective steps that cities and states have taken; and talked to members of Congress about how to move forward on common-sense legislation to prevent gun violence.
On January 17, the day after the President released his gun violence prevention plan, the Vice President spoke to the U.S. Conference of Mayors about the plan. Earlier this week, the Conference officially endorsed the President and Vice President’s proposals.
Vice President Joe Biden addresses the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, at the Capital Hilton, in Washington, DC, Jan. 17, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann).
On January 24th, the Vice President participated in a “Fireside Hangout” hosted by Google, talking with ordinary Americans from across the country concerned about how to reduce gun violence. It was a lively discussion about how we can meaningfully reduce the violence in our communities. Catch up on that conversation now:
On January 25th, the Vice President traveled to Richmond, Virginia, where, along with Secretaries Napolitano and Sebelius, Senator Tim Kaine, and Congressman Bobby Scott, he held a roundtable discussion with experts who helped improve Virginia’s background check system after the Virginia Tech shooting and about what still needs to be done to make sure that there is a criminal background check for every gun sale. We need to make sure states and the Federal government are making complete information available to our background check system about those who aren’t allowed to have guns, and the President’s gun violence plan includes four executive actions to do just that. But that is not enough; to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, we need Congress to pass new legislation requiring background checks for all gun sales, with common-sense exceptions for cases like transfers between family members.
On Monday, January 28th, the President and Vice President, along with members of the Cabinet, met with police chiefs and sheriffs from across the country about their work on the ground to reduce gun violence. Police chiefs from Aurora, Oak Creek, and Newtown shared their personal stories and the lessons they have learned from responding to and recovering from a mass shooting. Our plan would give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime by making gun trafficking a Federal crime with serious penalties, helping communities put 15,000 cops on the street, and taking other common-sense steps.
Senator Patrick Leahy chaired a hearing last week at which several witnesses explained why the President’s proposals are so important. And two of the key witnesses, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, came down to meet with President Obama on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama greets former Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, in the Oval Office after they testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, Jan. 30, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Finally, Vice President Biden personally called on Congress to act last Thursday when he traveled to the Hill to meet with Democratic Senators. Congress is already making progress on passing key components of the President’s plan; multiple bills that would take steps to reduce gun violence have been introduced in the Senate. The Vice President challenged his former colleagues to continue this progress, work quickly, and take the bold action this moment demands.
There is more activity to come. In fact, today the President travels to Minnesota to discuss his plan. We will continue to provide updates as we go forward.
For more information:
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House