Email from VP Joe Biden-If not now, when?, page 1

SO I received an email from our VP about the recent orders that our President signed (I signed up to the WH newsletter a few months back).

Email Below:

Hello --

Today President Obama announced a plan to help protect our kids and communities from gun violence. You're going to hear a lot about it, but I wanted to make sure you got a chance to get the facts, straight from me.

After hearing from Americans from across the political spectrum, we decided to focus on some key priorities: closing background check loopholes, banning military-style assault weapons, making our schools safer, and increasing access to mental health services.

The ideas we sent to President Obama are straightforward. Each of them honors the rights of law-abiding, responsible Americans to bear arms. Some of them will require action from Congress; the President is acting on others immediately. But they're all commonsense and will help make us a little safer.

Now is the time for all of us to act.
Read about the events that brought us to this point, learn about the plan we've proposed to help protect our kids, and then add your name in support to help build momentum for this plan.


Here's what we've put together:

We're calling for requiring background checks for all gun sales and closing the loopholes that allow dangerous individuals to make their purchase without going through one of these checks.

We're asking for a new, stronger ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that allow a shooter to fire dozens of bullets as quickly as he can pull a trigger. And we're asking Congress to help protect law enforcement by make it illegal for members of the public to possess armor-piercing bullets.

We're going to give law enforcement more tools and resources to prevent and prosecute gun crimes, and we're going to end the freeze on gun violence research that prevents the Center from Disease Control from looking at the causes of gun violence.

We're calling on Congress to help make schools safer by putting up to 1,000 school resource officers and mental health professionals in schools and ensuring they have comprehensive emergency management plans in place.

And we're going to increase coverage so that students and young adults can get access to the mental health treatment they may need.

We know that no policy we enact or law we enforce can prevent every senseless act of violence in our country. But if we can save the life of even one child, we have a deep responsibility to act.

Now is the time to come together to protect our kids. Learn about the plan, then add your name alongside mine:

Now is the time

Thanks,

Vice President Joe Biden

Here is the list of 23 orders that were announced today, just as a reminder. It is easy to get caught up with the "What If's" and the"This means" discussions.

Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions:

1. "Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."

2. "Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."

3. "Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."

4. "Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."

5. "Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun."

6. "Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers."

7. "Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign."

8. "Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission)."

9. "Issue a presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations."

10. "Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement."

11. "Nominate an ATF director."

12. "Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations."

13. "Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime."

14. "Issue a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence."

15. "Direct the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies."

16. "Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes."

17. "Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities."

18. "Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers."

19. "Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education."

20. "Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover."

21. "Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges."

22. "Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations."

23. "Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health."

Link

(FYI-I am a gun owner).

I feel that most of the threads being posted are negative and sway to one side or the other (In the extreme). We are a group of intelligent people that have a wide range of views, thoughts, and beliefs. We should be able to have a logical discussion without the serious negative comments and irrational behavior towards each other.

With that being said.

I feel that Military grade assault rifles do not belong in homes.

Someone should not be able to have a 100 bullets in one magazine.<.li>

I feel it is important to focus on the mental illness aspect of "why" people go on shooting sprees

I feel it is important if you have a gun shot wound, regardless of what state you live in, the doctors should be able to ask if you have a gun in the home. Then report it to the police. (This feels like common sense to me)

These are just four point that stick out in my head. Nothing that I have stated is a "What if". I think it would be great if we were able to stay with the facts and be polite with each other on this discussion.

reply to post by Djayed

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well first off they are magazines not clips so atleast get the terminology right.

on the gun shot wound part thats been a law for a while now(if you get shot and go to a hospital it gets reported).
i dont see why you would have to ask them if they had a gun or not but hey the doctors can ask any questions they want and nothing says you have to answer them or even answer them correctly.

on "assult weapons" most Americans don't own the same type of weapons the military does(but we can) and if they do they got a tax stamp if they wanted full automatic or burst fire,where as most weapons labeled as assault weapons are in fact just semi automatic firearms with cosmetic features or the ability to accept high cap mags.

ill give ya the mental health aspect but what they end up doing may not accomplish much in the ways of keeping guns out of the hands of those who may want to do harm as the law making drs report threats(was already a law before) might just make people who would have gotten treatment avoid treatment all together for fear of being labeled something so they will just end up staying off the radar or not feel comfortable talking to shrinks so advanced warning will not be an option

reply to post by Djayed

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again they are called magazines not clips,and being mentaly ill does not on its self disqualify you from owning a fire arm you have to be ruled a danger to your self or others or have been forcibly commited to a mental institution (72 hour hold) to loose your gun rights over a mental illness

Originally posted by RalagaNarHallas
reply to post by Djayed

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well first off they are magazines not clips so atleast get the terminology right.

Thanks! Do not own a assault rifle or fired one. My gun has a clip. I will correct my post.

reply to post by Djayed

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ah stripper clips are the exception to the rule if that's what you meant i apologize,and yes at times the vernacular can be confusing but you get the hang of it eventually

just figured out your avatar i loved that episode btw

Originally posted by RalagaNarHallas
reply to post by Djayed

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being mentaly ill does not on its self disqualify you from owning a fire arm

I never said it did disqualify you from owning a firearm (It's one word, if we are going to be picky about proper terminology), in my original post I stated:

I feel it is important to focus on the mental illness aspect of "why" people go on shooting sprees

Also on your statement:

you have to be ruled a danger to your self or others or have been forcibly commited to a mental institution (72 hour hold) to loose your gun rights over a mental illness

If the background checks do not include this information then how would the people conducting the background check know this info? I never heard that before so I do not know.

Originally posted by RalagaNarHallas
reply to post by Djayed

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ah stripper clips are the exception to the rule if that's what you meant i apologize,and yes at times the vernacular can be confusing but you get the hang of it eventually

just figured out your avatar i loved that episode btw

edit on 16-1-2013 by RalagaNarHallas because: (no reason given)

LOL, see your way above my gun knowledge! Thanks, gotta love that episode!! She was great!

reply to post by Djayed

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on the background checks part i think the reason it has not been implemented yet is because of hippa privacy rights i am not exactly clear if obamas orders today addressed that or not but it very well could have so that would be something to look into,the way i invision it working would be if you were ever committed to an institution you would have your ssn flagged as a prohibited person but not for what reason(to protect hippa privacy rights)so that if they tried to buy a gun it would show up as them being prohibited .

so to do this right either we have to change hippa or implement a way of flagging people who should not have guns by their ssn so that prohibited people cant not access weapons

lol yeah janeway was one of the better captains i thought


doh forgot the link to hippa www.hhs.gov...

reply to post by RalagaNarHallas

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Ok so I have one gun, I enjoy shooting it, I have it for protection. I do to see a purpose in having assault rifles, I do not worry about roaming gangs, or ITSHTF (Even though I would perfer a ITSHTF senario) now that we are on civil terms (partially though the love of janeway) I want to ask you what you feel your purpose on the need for assault rifles in everyday homes?

And, I agree Janeway was one of the best in my eyes...I watch them over and over....

reply to post by Djayed

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I am sure some would... Considering the Colt 1911 was originally designed for Military use before it became a favorite of Civilians.

reply to post by Djayed

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mostly for the same reasons a lot of members have already echoed because we have owned them for years and the ban they are trying to do would effect so many types of fire arms that this bill as its written wont pass due to how broadly it is worded, ill add the standard the swiss have military level rifles in their homes and they have less crime then we do so i think its a lack of mental health services mixed with the economy and people feeling hopeless so people are snapping.

as to why i want one. in Montana we have tweakers and tweakers often break into homes and dont often go down with one shot and as i was almost robbed last year(i assume that is what was happening at least)as i park in my back yard to more easily load my dogs into my car it often looks like no one is home and i had a car park on my bridge and two people got out and started walking up my driveway as i thought this was suspicious i let one of my dogs out into the fenced back yard area and he started barking and they stopped in their tracks about half the way to my front door at which point i had walked down stairs to the front door with my ak-47 slung across my chest(but not brandished mind you). by this point my other dog starts barking and i open the door (with the chain lock attached) to ask them what they needed/were up to at which point they slowly backed away and that's when i noticed they were both carrying pistol grip shot guns.

so then they got back into their truck i called 911 and reported their plates and when the local police caught them the found out they had been involved in several home invasion robberies in my area and found some of the property from the other robberies in the truck when they were caught .(sorry for the rant it does have a point i promise)

so the events in that story are why i feel a need to own an "assault rifle" because with out even having to point it at some one i got two armed people to leave my property with out incident just by being present and witnessed with it ,had i grabbed my shot gun we would have been on equal terms but with me being out numbered or my black powder revolver and well that's not something you want to bring to a gun fight these days and been totally out gunned. i will credit the police with swift action in capturing the suspects (they caught them 4 miles down the road from my house) so they did play a factor in stopping them in the end so i feel they should be credited

reply to post by Djayed

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that is the ambiguity of the bill that has some pro gun people very nervous is we dont know exactly what guns will be banned or exactly what types of hand guns etc or the size and scope of it that is why we are relatively nervous is we don't have a clear answer yet. and even then it will have to pass the house which i don't see happening but who knows.
i know after seeing the law today im feeling better about it as i dont think it will pass

reply to post by Sovaka

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the new york gun bill would ban that 1911 if it held more then 7 rounds(most magazines for them are 8 rounds) so until new mags are made it will be hard to use them,and as it seems they are not grandfathering in magazines (could be wrong on this so dont take this as gospel) so that might make it hard to use most guns that have above 7 round mags until new ones get made.


the federal ban that is proposed would limit mags to 10(like the last awb) and i assume it would also grandfather in mags due to article 1 section 9 of the constitution on ex post facto laws so new yorks law is much stricter then even the proposed federal ban

reply to post by Sovaka

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As would the Baretta 92, the Walther P1, Walther PPK...this could become a very long list. By the way, neither of the Walthers have more than 10 rounds in the magazine. Nor does the Colt 1911...originally, but extended clips can be purchased by secondary manufacturers.

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