2016 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the gun-violence-prevention movement. The year opened with President Obama’s radio address announcing his plan to focus on America’s gun-violence epidemic in the remaining year of his presidency. Days later, on January 4, flanked by survivors of gun violence from communities across the country, the president once again addressed the nation in a moving speech lamenting the polarized and gridlocked state of the gun-policy debate.
In that second address, President Obama called upon all Americans to stand up to the powerful gun lobby and take action to enact commonsense policies to prevent some of the country’s annual 33,000 gun deaths. He also unveiled a series of executive actions that, while modest in the context of all that needs to be done to strengthen our nation’s gun laws, present a thoughtful approach to addressing many aspects of gun violence.
The above excerpt was originally published in Real Clear Policy.
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