[News] Here are Obama's 23 new Gun Control proposals / actions.

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Necronic

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I don't understand why this hasn't already been law for years.
"mental health check" is an incredibly broad and vague requirement. It also assumes that psychologists/therapists/etc can actually easily and reliably identify people that are a threat to others or themselves, which has historically been shown to not be the case (sadly). The lack of rigour in a "mental health check" basically makes it untennable.
 
A mental health diagnosis is a pretty private matter. Unless this person is in the flinging poo or actual killer variety, no one else gets to know.
 
I think giving the ATF back some of its teeth is the thing for which I'm most excited. The rest are vague or just incredibly insulting to me (pretty much anything with the words "mental health")
 
The Senate must approve an ATF Director, which they have not done in 8 years. The current director is only working part time.

All the cuts to their power just came through as riders on appropriation bills.

From teh wiki

Directors

A list of recent ATF directors:[40]
Senate approval controversy

The job of ATF director has required Senate confirmation only since 2006, but that has never happened, leaving the agency in the hands of acting directors.[41]
The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama's nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a 'recess appointment,' in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators. Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police's (IACP) 'Gun Violence Reduction Project,' a 'partnership' with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.[42]
“The bottom line is the gun lobby will oppose any nominee who promises to be a strong and effective director of the ATF,” said Dennis Henigan, vice president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Indeed, it was persistent lobbying by the NRA. that helped to get the confirmation requirement instated. In 2007, Bush nominated Mike Sullivan for the position, a U.S. Attorney from Boston with a good reputation, but Republican Sens. Larry Craig and Michael D. Crapo, both from Idaho, blocked his confirmation after complaints from an Idaho gun dealer. In 2010, Obama nominated Andrew Traver, head of the ATF’s Denver division, to fill the top spot, but the Senate is yet to hold his confirmation hearings as of December 26, 2012.[43][44]
[DOUBLEPOST=1358440996][/DOUBLEPOST]Also the Daily show had a good rundown of the changes to the ATF.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
The ATF has been some of the most egregious perpetrators of jackbooted authoritarian thuggery in living memory. I'm rather surprised to read Charlie posting favorably of them.
 
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