"Working toward a bold response to last month's shooting in Newtown, Conn., New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Wednesday will introduce one of the most sweeping new gun laws in the country, the New York Times reports."
"Among other restrictions, Cuomo will reportedly announce his plans to push for a strict new ban on assault weapons in his State of the State address this afternoon in Albany, N.Y. Although New York already has a ban on some assault weapons on the books, Cuomo intends to expand the "number of guns and magazines covered by the law while also making it harder for gun makers to tweak their products to get around the ban," according to the Times:
According to people briefed on the talks, the governor is considering not only rewriting the state’s assault weapons ban, but also proposing more expansive use of mental health records in background checks of gun buyers, lower limits on the capacity of magazines sold legally in New York and a new requirement that gun permits be subject to periodic recertification.CBS 2 in New York reported late Tuesday that Cuomo was negotiating with leaders in the state Assembly and Senate in the hopes of having a deal struck before his speech on Wednesday.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/cuomo-to-propose-dramatic-new-gun-laws?ref=fpb
Today on the national stage, Vice President Joe Biden who is leading the White House taskforce on gun violence is set to meet with gun control proponents-and gun owner groups too, including the NRA:
"Beginning today, Joe Biden begins the series of gatherings at the White House, aimed at trying to create some consensus on what to do about gun violence. These are the meetings President Obama promised would take place in the wake of Newtown, and these are the meetings that are designed to come up with recommendations in time for the president to push in his State of the Union. The most intriguing session could be tomorrow when gun groups, including the NRA, are represented at the White House. But let’s not get too optimistic about the NRA’s participation. This meeting may be for show, pure and simple. Both sides had to do it. The White House had to issue an invite to the NRA, and the NRA had to say yes, which the NRA says will indicate the seriousness with which they take this offer. The NRA is sending a representative (not LaPierre) to hear what the White House has to say, but it is just one of several gun-advocacy groups that will participate in this Biden guns summit."
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16430258-first-thoughts-bidens-gun-violence-listening-sessions-begin?lite=
Of course, not much common ground with the NRA is expected:
"If there is any common ground between the NRA and the White House, it could be on the idea of mandating state participation in the mental-health database and stronger mental-health screenings. But nothing on gun restrictions themselves, not on clips either. As for today’s meeting, Biden meets with victims’ groups and gun-safety advocates. And he’s also expected to meet with representatives from the video game and entertainment industry, but those meetings have yet to be scheduled. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on TODAY said, despite New Jersey having some of the toughest gun laws in the country, that guns is not enough. “I’m willing to have that conversation,” Christie said of a federal ban on powerful, high-capacity weapons, “but you’ve got to deal with these other issues.”
No one ever claimed that any of the possible gun control measures by themselves would solve the problem. That's not a reason to not do gun control. Even LaPierre's idea of armed guards could be part of an answer in some schools, however, gun control is an important part of the solution as well. The problem is that he wants it to be either-or.
This piece linked above seems to think that there's a choice between a bold, comprehensive bill that can't pass Congress and a more modest bill that can.
"The White House has a self-imposed deadline of the end of this month to come up with some tangible items. They can go one of two ways: (1) Incremental (magazines and mental-health screenings): This will show the White House trying to create proposals that can pass, but there will be a lot of disappointed people, or (2) Bolder (really pushing for reinstating the assault-weapons ban, mandatory background checks of all purchases, including private sales, a national gun ownership database): But the risk of the bold approach is that it can’t pass Congress. It’s a bit of a political box for the White House; they’d like to do something, and there is a chance to “do something,” but what is possible and what some gun-control advocates really want are not in the same ballpark."
Of course, you can start with the more bold proposals while holding out the more 'modest" plan as a minimum and maybe get more than the minimum. If you start with it, you surely won't get more.
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