By JULIE PACE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is
launching an administration-wide effort to curb gun violence,
underscoring the growing political consensus over tightening gun
restrictions following the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary
school.
Obama is tasking Vice President Joe Biden, a
longtime gun control advocate, with spearheading the effort. In remarks
from the White House on Wednesday, Obama will outline a process for
pursuing policy changes following the school shooting, though he is not
expected to call for specific measures.
The president has vowed to use "whatever power this
office holds" to safeguard the nation's children after Friday's
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Twenty children and
six adults were killed at the school by a gunman carrying an arsenal of
ammunition and a high-powered, military-style rifle.
The White House sees some urgency in formulating a
policy response to the shooting, even as Obama and his top aides are
consumed with averting the "fiscal cliff" before tax hikes and spending
cuts take effect in January. The incident has prompted several
congressional gun rights supporters to consider new legislation to
control firearms, and there is some fear that their willingness to
engage could fade as the shock and sorrow over the Newtown shooting
eases.
Many pro-gun lawmakers also have called for a
greater focus on mental health issues and the impact of violent
entertainment. White House aides say stricter gun laws alone are not the
answer.
"It's a complex problem that requires more than one
solution," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It calls for
not only re-examining our gun laws and how well we enforce them, but
also for engaging mental health professionals, law enforcement
officials, educators, parents and communities to find those solutions."
Still, much of the immediate focus after the
shooting is on gun control, an issue that has been dormant in Washington
for years. Obama expended little political capital on gun issues during
his first term, despite several mass shootings, including a movie
theater attack in Aurora, Colo., in the midst of this year's
presidential campaign.
The White House has begun to signal that Obama may
be more proactive on gun issues following the murders of the elementary
school youngsters, ages 6 and 7.
Carney said Obama was "actively supportive" of
legislation to reinstate a ban on assault-style weapons that expired in
2004. The president long has supported a ban, but exerted little effort
to get it passed during his first term. Obama also would support closing
a gun show loophole allowing people to buy arms from private dealers
without background checks and would be interested in legislation
limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines, Carney said.
The policy process Obama was announcing Wednesday
was expected to include input from the departments of Justice,
Education, and Health and Human Services. The heads of those agencies
met with Obama at the White House on Monday.
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