Executive plan throws up more questions

Centrepiece is guidance that seeks to clarify who is ‘in the business’ of selling firearms

President Barack Obama’s plan to strengthen controls on guns in the US is meeting swift resistance from gun rights groups, Republicans and even a few Democrats who say it’s up to Congress to enact new policies on firearms.

Yet the overall effect on gun violence could prove to be relatively small. Some questions and answers about Obama’s presidential actions on gun control:

What action

is

Obama taking?

All sellers must be licensed and must conduct background checks on potential buyers – overturning current exemptions to private sellers at gun shows and online

Congress will be asked to invest $500m in its 2017 budget to boost access to mental health care

States must provide information on people disqualified due to mental illness or domestic violence

306.8 million

US population

310 million

Guns owned by

US citizens

Handguns

114 million

for $500 million for mental health care. Further steps aim to better track lost guns and prevent trusts or corporations from buying dangerous weapons without background checks.

I sell a few guns from time to time. Do I need to register?

AFP Aimless? A review shows that Obama’s executive actions would have had no impact in keeping weapons from suspects in several of the deadliest incidents. The shooters in Newtown and San Bernardino, for example, used weapons purchased by other people.