President
Obama presented his twenty-three executive actions on combatting gun violence
earlier in the week. This was ahead of
schedule and they should make a great impact.
I decided to post them in full here.
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.
One
of the most important items on the list is to nominate a director for the ATF.
Like so many nominees during his first term, this appointment has been a victim
of the filibuster. The ATF has had an
acting director but that is not the same.
I
also like that it addresses multiple issues surrounding gun violence. Mental health is a topic for national
attention now. Also, letting mental
health professionals know that they are allowed to disclose if they think a
patient of theirs is dangerous. These
people should not fall through the cracks.
Reception
to these proposals has been positive.
Through these executive actions, more study is mandated and desperately
needed.
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