Skip to content

Everytown For Gun Safety Answers President Obama’s Call: Recommends Executive Actions White House Can Take Today to Reduce Gun Violence in America

10.5.2015

NEW YORK – Today Everytown for Gun Safety released a report recommending five life-saving steps the White House can advance, without Congressional action required, right now to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The report comes in response to the President’s recent remarks lamenting that gun violence has grown so routine in America and deploring Congressional inaction to make America safer. In his remarks, the President issued a powerful call to action, recommitting his administration to exploring its authority to take executive action to enforce the laws already in place.

“The president rightfully asked what he could do to prevent gun violence tragedies – our recommendations answer that call,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “The White House can take steps today to keep dangerous people with guns out of our schools, to keep convicted domestic abusers from possessing guns, to crack down on trafficking and to help federal law enforcement and states enforce the laws on the books that keep criminals from getting guns. There has been significant progress at the state level and we know the president is serious about taking action – but Congress must step up too and do its part to prevent gun violence. American lives are on the line.”

This report released today answers the President’s call, and offers five life-saving measures that the Administration could put forward — today — to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The five critical, and simple, steps would:


  • Keep dangerous people with guns out of our schools;
  • Crack down on gun trafficking and curb the sale of guns without background checks;
  • Ensure that federal law enforcement identifies and prosecutes the most dangerous criminals who try to illegally obtain guns;
  • Help states to enforce their own background check laws; and
  • Ensure that all convicted domestic abusers are prohibited from possessing guns.

While Congress remains gridlocked on gun violence prevention, the states are leading the charge for public safety: In May, Oregon became the 18th state to require background checks on all handgun sales – and the sixth state to do so since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary not quite three years ago. In 2014 and 2015 alone, more than a dozen states have closed loopholes that make it easy for domestic abusers to get their hands on guns. This session, Everytown and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America helped defeat bills that would have allowed people to carry guns in K-12 schools in 15 states and guns on college campuses in 14 states.