http://www2.tbo.com/news/opinion/2013/jan/17/naopino1-obama-goes-after-guns-ar-608743/ Obama goes after guns EDITORIAL By TBO.COM | Staff Published: January 17, 2013 » Comments | Post a Comment It's unfortunate, but not surprising, that President Obama chose to make gun control measures of dubious value the centerpiece of his anti-violence initiative. Liberals usually focus on guns, not culprits, so in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders the president wants to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines as well as require background checks for all gun sales. Banning high-capacity magazines, such as the 30-round one used by the murderer in Newtown, Conn., seems to us a reasonable restriction. Limiting a magazine to 10 rounds is no threat to gun owners. But assault rifles, however sinister looking, use the same semiautomatic technology as many hunting rifles. Congress is unlikely to approve the proposal, and the conflict will only divert attention from the steps the nation should be taking to identify and treat the dangerously mentally ill, which is the heart of the problem. Similarly, although we have no objection to extending background checks for gun transactions where feasible, to expand the requirement to all gun sales is unrealistic. Is the country going to mandate background checks and federal paperwork when a hunter sells a gun to a neighbor? In addition, the existing background check system is badly flawed. The Wall Street Journal reports the National Instant Criminal Background Check System "doesn't include millions of people legally barred from owning guns." Obama proposes to strengthen the system, but Washington can't ensure that states respond. The president also intends to take executive action to fight gun violence, which caused some gun advocates to immediately accuse him of violating his constitutional authority. But most of the steps announced seemed appropriate for the executive branch, if of modest value. Among them: launch a national gun safety campaign; review standards for gun locks and gun safes; and order the Justice Department to conduct a report on the best gun safety technologies. Obama rightly would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct research on gun violence. Congress, at the behest of the NRA, had stopped such studies, but the administration says the legislation only banned research intended to promote gun control. Americans need the straight facts on gun violence, unskewed by activists on either side. Little noted in this debate is that crime and violence in the United States have gone down, even as gun ownership has dramatically increased. Mass murders have become more common, but they are more the result of a feeble mental health system than weak gun laws. And what is the rush? The proposals by Obama and point man Vice President Joe Biden come barely a month after the Sandy Hook massacre. Much more time is needed to study what happened and draft and thoroughly discuss meaningful measures to address the issues. The president does call for a national dialogue on mental health, but we doubt it will be heard over the tumult caused by his wild shot at gun control.