Obama unveils federal gun bill

Obama unveils federal gun bill

Sweeping federal gun control legislation proposed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-13th) would increase the penalties on gun runners who are flooding Chicago's streets with illegal weapons.

At an anti-gun rally held at the Park Manor Christian Church, 600 E. 73rd St., headed by the Rev. James Demus, Obama also said he's backing a resolution being introduced into the City Council by Alds. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Ted Thomas (15th), Leslie Hairston (5th) to call for a "shot-free" millennium celebration.

Obama outlined his anti-gun plan that includes increased penalties for the interstate transportation of firearms. The maximum penalty now for bringing a gun across the border is 10 years in prison.

Obama is proposing to make it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from his residence which causes harm to another person if that weapon was not securely stored in that home.

He's proposing restricting gun purchases to one weapon a month and banning the sale of firearms at gun shows except for "antique" weapons. Obama is also proposing increasing the licensing fee to obtain a federal firearms license.

He's also seeking a ban on police agencies from reselling their used weapons even if those funds are used to buy more state-of-the-art weapons for their agencies. Obama wants only those over 21 who've passed a basic course to be able to buy or own a firearm.

He's proposing that all federally licensed gun dealers sell firearms in a storefront and not from their homes while banning their business from being within five miles of a school or a park. He's also banning the sale of 'junk" handguns like the popular Saturday Night Specials.

Obama is requiring that all people working at a gun dealer undergo a criminal background check. He's also asking that gun manufacturers be required to develop safety measures that permit only the original owner of the firearm to operate the weapon purchased.

Additionally, he wants an increase of the funds for schools to teach anger management skills for youth between the ages of 5-13. Obama is also seeking to increase the federal taxes by 500 percent on the sale of firearm, ammunition -- weapons he says are most commonly used in firearm deaths.

With the support of Robert Hassin, chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club, Obama said he chose the church for his announcement because it's near the site where several young men invaded the home of an 84-year-old woman and killed her, falsely thinking she had won the lottery.

"Let's send a message that we can have a New Year's eve where no one fires a weapon either for the reason of violence or as a celebration," said Obama. "This would be the right way to start the Year 2000 and would set an example for our children.

"This home invasion is another example of how violence came close to home and we must have congressional action to help reduce gun deaths. Congress has been slow to act on these issues," he stated.

While Obama admits violent crimes in the U.S. are going down, he says the statistics on gun violence are still "staggering." He cites the Centers for Disease Control who on Nov. 19, 1999 stated there were 32,436 fatalities in the U.S. due to gun violence in 1997, or 12.1 deaths per 1,000 people.

Obama said there were also 64,207 non-fatal gun shootings during the same year which averages 265 people were shot each day in the U.S.

The U.S. firearm death rate per 100,000 people was 13.7 in 1995 versus 1.47 in Germany, 0.07 in Japan, and in England, where Obama says even the police don't carry guns, the rate was 0.57.